A Beautiful Lie
by TroubleMaker1397
Summary: When the bullets start flying and the bombs start falling, who can you trust to watch your back at war? Your comrades that's who. It doesn't matter what religion they are or what ancestry they come from. We are all here to fight a common enemy- we will live together and we will die together. Life is a beautiful lie and death is a painful truth.
1. Chapter 1

**A Beautiful Lie**

 **Chapter One**

 _Russian Controlled Zone of the City of Stalingrad, Russia_

 _November 1942_

 _"What is this?"_ I asked in disbelief. Dirt and sweat covered my pale face and I attempt to wipe some of the grim away with my, just as dirty, uniform sleeve of my left arm, without success. My occupied right hand held the former clean piece of paper handed to me minutes ago by a scared runner boy before he disappeared into the smoke of the crumbling city.

 _"Lieutenant General Chuikov!"_ I shout over the loud explosions in the not too far distance from our command post. I quickly dodge around other commanders under the busy tent as I approach my superior commander. I salute when he notices my presence, he looks up from a map of the city and pauses his conversation with other commanders. He returns my salute as does the Major and Captain on either side of him respectively and dismisses them with a flick of his hand.

 _"Captain Belikova!"_ he acknowledges with a permanent frown fixture on his ageing face. A small smile appears on his face as he notices the dirtied piece of paper scrunched up in my grease stained hand.

 _"I'm assuming this visit is to do with your new orders Captain?"_ he asks knowingly with a smirk as the distinct familiar sounds of mortars going off in the distance rumbles ever closer. We don't even flinch, to used to the sounds by now to cause any reaction.

 _"Yes, I don't understand them, why me sir?"_ I ask in confusion as I once again glance down at the words that make no sense in my mind.

 _"Surely I'm most needed here in defence of Stalingrad, Comrade Stalin's order 227 says to take no step back and defend Stalingrad to the end or our entire country will collapse! I can't leave now, I need to help and command my unit-"_ My rumblings were interrupted by Lieutenant General Chuikov's deep voice speaking over my own.

 _"You will follow your orders Captain! I am aware of order 227 as is the rest of us and the result of not following it but this order comes straight from the Kremlin and Comrade Stalin himself and will not be disobeyed, understood?"_ My superior officer spoke up firmly with no room for argument. I straightened up at his tone of voice and was practically at attention when I replied.

 _"Yes, Lieutenant General"_ he exhaled after, turned his back and walked towards the edge of the command post made up of sandbags, metal poles and a tarp as a roof. He motions with his finger for me to join him and I slowly make my way past the table with the map and stand at his side as we together look out at the destruction of once a great lively city; now replaced with crumbling buildings, rubble and dead corpses. It reminds me why I fight when I look at the devastation caused by the Nazi's in my beloved country. My commander suddenly spoke, shaking me out of my daydream of how different my life used to be 2 years ago.

 _"Anastasia, If I could do anything to let you stay, I would,"_ he says after sighing deeply, I look at his face with a frown but he never takes his eyes off the city.

 _"You must know that, but your needed elsewhere now_ _ **myshka.**_ _You also haven't stopped this constant routine of fighting since the Germans started this offensive in August, you need time to rest."_ He looked down at me from his greater height with paternal affection.

 _"No one else has been given rest."_ I mumbled quietly with a frown as I turn back to the city and see several mortar squads deploying their load onto the German side of the city.

 _"You know that you're not just anybody else, you're a hero of Soviet Russia. Go to America, rest up, teach the Americans some useful fighting moves and how to shoot straight eh?- Comrade Stalin is allowing you to participate with their 'airborne' as not only a show of good faith between our countries but to improve our military tactics so expect to be asked to write reports for us."_ I turn to look back at my commander and he looks pointedly at the dark bags under my eyes from sleep deprivation.

 _"You'll be back home before you know it, I'll take care of your unit as much as I can, your needed elsewhere now_ _ **myshka**_ _!"_ He finished before lighting a cigar and turning back to the table with the maps.

I sigh in acknowledgement and nod before I angle my head up towards the sky and breathe in the stale smell of sweat, smoke and decay.

 _Fort Benning, Georgia, USA_

 _December 1942_

The Warmth of the unfamiliar country was the first thing I noticed when I step off the ship in New York City, despite it being winter time. I can't help but think about Russia being covered under at least 3 feet of snow minimum by now. The sprinkles of white stuff on the ground is nothing compared to the heavy downpour I was used to.

It has been a month since I left Stalingrad and jumped on a plane to England where an American official was waiting for me before I boarded a supply ship heading for Brooklyn Harbour.

I was ordered before I left by government officials to make a good impression as I am going to be representing my country. So here I was standing at the Docks of a foreign country in my dress uniform suitable to my rank, all commissioned officers wore a blue/green colour uniform with high boots and long grey coats as I was. My rank was projected on the shoulders of my grey coat. My medals recently added included my hero of the soviet union as well as my order of Lenin medal were pinned to my uniform. The bags under my eyes were near non-existent with the 2 weeks at sea to catch up on my sleep apart from the occasional nightmare. My hair was smartly put into a bun at the back of my head and my hat was tilted to the side as is proper for a red army soldier.

I was welcomed by two officers in United States army uniform with a salute before being bundled into the back of the black polished car and driven away, towards my temporary new home.

It was early dawn when we reached Fort Benning and I was grateful to stretch my legs when I hoped out the car, after a long journey in a confined space especially in my uncomfortable dress uniform that I changed into on the ship just as the ship docked in Brooklyn. I squint as I watch the sun rise and I take my coat off and drape it over my arm as I enjoy the warmth in unexpected delight.

"HI-YO SILVER!" I heard faintly, disturbing my quiet peaceful thoughts. The sound of multiple running footsteps could also now be heard, coming closer towards my position. I turn my head to the right to see a dark haired, sweaty man in a white t-shirt and short black shorts running in front of a no-doubt tired company of men. The sweaty man at the front notices me first and slows down his pace considerably. I'm sure I must look like the most unusual person ever: to be standing in a U.S training fort, in Russian dress uniform flanked by two U.S army officers. The other men of the company soon begin to notice my presence too and I can see from here the shocked faces and looks passed between the weary soldiers. The signal for the company to hold up comes from the dark haired man when they were within 10 feet of me. I raise an eyebrow as the company's commanding officer approaches me.

"Ten-Hut!" was shouted from my two escort officers as the obnoxious man approached. He hesitated in confusion before jumping to attention and snapping me a salute, I caught on quickly to what 'ten-hut' meant and returned the salute respectively and dismissed it just as quickly.

"Good Morning, Ma'am" The long nosed man greeted with a nod of his head. I smiled a tight smile and my eyes grew cold at the feminine term.

"Captain Belikova, Red Army Commander of the U.S.S.R." I turned my head to look at the man's company behind him, exposing my 4 inch pink scar that hasn't quite healed yet on the right side of my neck. I turn to look back at the man I disliked already and I saw him start to perspire more when I identified myself.

"Captain Sobel, Commander of Easy Company, 506th regiment, 101st Airborne," He replied in kind in a suddenly meek voice as my cold eyes were still trained on him which caused his Adam's apple to bob uncontrollably. I give a small chilly smile in greeting before moving my right hand to my hip, exposing my once blocked from sight pistol in a leather holster attached to my belt. Sobel notices the hand movement and glanced down to see the strapped semi-automatic pistol to my belt. He seemed to resolve himself before planting a stern frown on his face before opening his mouth next.

"Captain, I'm afraid no weapons, loaded or not are allowed to be present at Fort Benning without authorization from Colonel Sink!" I frown in response of this and take a step closer to the captain in a intimidating manner despite being only 5 ft 5 and Sobel around 6 ft tall.

"My Tokarev is a part of my dress uniform Captain and I would be disgracing this uniform by removing it, now if you may excuse me I have a meeting with Colonel Sink whom I am sure will allow me to keep my Semi-Automatic- it's quite sentimental to me, I shot my first Nazi brains out with it." I said with such cold emotion, I pass the arrogant American officer without another word and left his jaw hanging in disbelief.

As I start to walk past the company of men, who by the looks of things heard every single word exchanged between myself and their commanding officer, we exchanged salutes. Some appeared shocked by my words and others were slightly fearful. However there was one man who was different than the rest: he was quite tall and slim, with dark hair and dark eyes with a shit eating grin on his face directed at me. Our eyes met- emerald green to dark chocolate brown and we shared a smirk together before I passed the company altogether and was directed by my escorts towards the largest wooden hut I could see in the area.

"I can take it from here," I exclaimed, turning to both my escorts as I reached the steps of the large cabin with my escorts still with me.

"Thank you gentlemen!" I said gratefully with a rare small smile, causing my usually cold face to light up. We exchanged salutes once again before we went our separate ways. I opened the door of the Colonel's cabin where a nervous young man shot up faster than a bullet when he spotted me enter the wooden cabin.

"Captain Belikova!" the man, no, the boy acknowledged. His hand with the raised salute had a near unnoticeable shake to it. I decided to give the young male a disarming soft smile that I've heard actually makes me look my real age- 18.

"How'd you do?" I asked with an American accent. The privates eyes widened in surprise and I couldn't help but burst into laughter at his reaction.

"Just messing with you, sorry I couldn't, how'd you say? Help myself?" I asked questioningly uncertain with their language and sayings.

"I am quite a fan of American movies!" I explained with a small grin. Being a fan of American movies was an understatement, John Wayne films especially were high up in my list of favourites.

"That's quite alright ma'am!" The private replied, seeming more at ease with my presence now and it almost felt like there was no officer/enlisted barrier between us. But there was.

"Is Colonel Sink ready to see me?" I asked, the brief moment of acting like a normal person over with and the pressure of being a commandant in the Red army coming back to me all at once like cold water being poured over you.

"Yes ma'am, I'll escort you" he said quickly, realising the brief moment of normality was over. He walked quickly down a short corridor, me close on his heels, before he paused at a door on his right where he knocked two times before opening the door to reveal a grey haired man with a bushy moustache and small dark eyes.

"Thank you, private...?" I asked before stepping into the Colonels office.

"Lorraine ma'am" he replies with a brief smile before letting me step through, into the spacious office before closing the door behind him. As I approach the desk where the older man was sitting, he stands up and we both salute each other as was proper for officers in the army before he reached out and shook my hand with clear respect shining through his eyes before gesturing for me to sit opposite his desk in the leather tub chair behind me as he squats down to sit in his own seat.

"It's very nice to meet you Captain Belikova, I trust you had a pleasant trip." Colonel Sink started talking while leaning back in his chair to get a good look at myself.

"Nice to meet you to sir, my journey to America was as well as could be expected in wartime, I wouldn't mind going without the U-boat false alarms though on my way over here." I replied in a kind and joking way. The Colonel guffawed out laughter with my last comment before nodding in agreement with a eye crinkling smile on his face.

"I've read about your achievements so far in the war, very impressive, one of the youngest ever to be awarded the hero of the soviet union medal," He said happily with a nod of his head.

"Your a good soldier Belikova and from what I've heard from Lieutenant General Chuikov your a damn fine shot too, I'm sure your going to fit in well with my best company in the 506th."

"Thank You sir." I replied with a light blush on my cheeks. I'm not used to compliments and I usually feel uncomfortable when complimented. I glad I'm being put with the best they had, I hate being slowed down and I always wanted to be put with a group with good physical fitness, intelligence as well as good shooting and hand-to-hand combat skills just like my squad I was put in charge of in Russia- I trained them to be the best and now its like starting all over again with getting used to knowing the men you will be commanding and fighting beside against a common enemy.

"I'll be putting you with Easy company, 2nd battalion. You'll be serving under Captain Sobel, the CO of the company," Colonel Sink told me. I was unable to suppress the sour look on my face when I heard I would be put under his command essentially despite still following and answering first hand to my own superior officers and the kremlin.

"I think these boys will really be able to learn a lot from you Captain." He finished with a smile when he looked up from his paperwork.

"I've already met the Captain, sir, I wasn't very impressed when he questioned my uniform." I exclaimed with a frown. Colonel Sink raised a bushy eyebrow with a similar frown overtaking his weary face.

"He questioned your uniform?" the Colonel asked in a not very happy voice as I nodded in confirmation to his question.

"Yes sir, he questioned my authorization of having my Tokarev and suggested for it to be removed from myself, it's a great disrespect to be questioned about your uniform in my country and the suggestion of removing an important element of it, superior commanders excluded of course." I replied and showed the distaste on my face over the whole confrontation.

"Of course, I apologise on behalf of my Captain and I'll have him apologise as soon as I see him!" Colonel Sink exclaimed fiercely with a determined nod of his head. I smiled in thanks and he rose from his seat where he shook my hand once again before calling for Lorraine. The boy quickly rushed through the door, he sort of reminded me of an overeager puppy- always wanting to be helpful and fiercely loyal to its masters. I suppose its time to meet my new American comrades.

 **Hello! This new story of mine is a bit different compared to others I've read about on the BOB fanfiction page! I do not own Band of Brothers! I only own my original character Anastasia Belikova- who is not based on a real person. The italics earlier in this chapter are to let you know that they are speaking Russian. I can't speak Russian and I don't think google translator is very good with translating the Russian language well so I'll use the italics to indicate a language other than English is being used. Lieutenant General Chuikov is in fact a real person who was involved in the battle of Stalingrad- the way I write him is not accurate towards his true character, I just wanted to use a real name for a bit more authenticity. Secondly the uniform I described my character in may not be very accurate for that era as I had a bit of trouble finding out what their dress uniforms were like at that time so sorry for any mistakes made. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! The chapter is un-beta so sorry for any mistakes made in spelling etc..**

 **I am working on Out of the woods, and a new chapter will be out soon- sorry for the delay!**

 **Thank you for reading and please drop a review down to tell me if you liked it or not.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 _Mozhaisk defence line_ , _Moscow, Russia_

 _October 1941_

 _"_ _I have Commander Petrov's attack report, Lieutenant General Rokossovsky!"_ I exclaimed, hurrying into my superior commanders office. The man that sat behind the desk looked much older than his actual age. He rubbed his forehead with his large rough hand as he continued to read yet another report that didn't look too positive from where I'm standing.

 _"_ _Lieutenant General?"_ I asked in a quieter, softer voice when the silence continues between us. The report given to him must not have been very good at all.

 _"_ _Lieutenant Belikova come here my dear?"_ He asked in a grave voice after a few minutes of silence, he gestured his hand with his fingers and I slowly made my way over to his side and glance down to see what was written in the latest report to give the Lieutenant General such a melancholy mood. I catch certain words such as 'high resistance', 'outnumbered' and 'retreat'. I suddenly understand the grim reality of what was going on in my superiors mind.

 _"_ _Is there anything I can do for you Sir?"_ I asked, concerned with unusual silence, I was used to orders being shouted left and right with his subordinates running around like headless chickens.

 _"_ _My dear, how old are you? 17? 18?"_ He asked, finally looking at me. The war has taken its toll on my superior officers face, I have never seen him look so worn and tired before.

 _"_ _17 Sir"_ I answered confused as to where this conversation was going. I could hear him mumbling under his breath, barely comprehensible but managed to catch some of what he was saying. 'too young', 'too young', ' too young to die'.

I was going to open my mouth to say something else, something to console him perhaps. But I never had the chance before a huge explosion was heard close by. Too close by. Much too close by to the command post.

 _"_ _Get down!"_ was all I heard before I was tackled to the ground before the windows exploded inwards as a result of the next explosion landing right outside the CP. I felt the body on top of me, covering me from harm, being removed. My ears were ringing and smoke was all I could see in the familiar office. It was like life slowed down as I unsteadily tried to get to my feet, my hands fumbled around on the ground, trying to find some purchase on the floor to give me some strength to help myself up from the floor but all I found was pain as the glass from the exploded windows cut deep into my hands when I was fumbling around. I looked down at myself and saw my stockings all ripped up with some cuts to my legs from the glass, my beige pencil skirt and matching buttoned shirt, a secretary in the U.S.S.R's standard uniform, was dirty and smudged with dirt, surprisingly my black former polished high heels were still attached to my feet. My dark shoulder length hair-do was undone and annoyingly covering my face, blocking some of my vision. I heard shouting from my left and I turned my head in the direction to see the now dirty Lt General shouting down the radio.

 _"_ _Commander Resnov! Where the hell are you and your forces? WHAT? My Command Post is under artillery fire because you retreated without permission and you didn't think to inform me?! Goddamn it!"_ The Lt General slammed the phone from the radio down onto the floor forcefully and rubbed his forehead for a minute before walking quickly out towards the small force of soldiers here that would have to defend the CP, it was far too late to evacuate now.

I scrambled up from the floor with more purpose now and followed my superior out into the courtyard, looking at the minimal defence we had against the advancing Germans. Sandbags surrounded the courtyard, we have 2 machine gun posts, both equipped with maxims set up on either side of the courtyard. Less than a company of soldiers maybe 80 if we're lucky, were available to defend the CP.

 _"_ _Commander Resnov's men have retreated! Our flanks are exposed! The Germans will reach us soon, set up defensive positions! We defend this post, understand?"_ The Lt General shouted to the men, ordering them about, the men rushed to position themselves behind the little cover of the sandbags, checking their ammunition supply as they went. It was chaos, men running everywhere, Lieutenants shouting orders to their men. A Bolt- action rifle was pushed into my arms and the man rushed off before I could even say a word.

 _"_ _Commander Belikova!"_ The Lt General shouted and I rushed over to his side, still with the rifle in my hands awkwardly. It had been quite a while since I had held a rifle and I was more used to the typical hunting rifle that I used to use when I visited my father in Siberia.

 _"_ _Good you grabbed yourself a weapon, our ammunition supply is looking good so far but we don't know what kind of force we are up against yet, I remember you used to tell me about hunting trips with your father, set yourself up somewhere high where you have a good vantage point and view of the courtyard, you'll be our sniper, pick off anything that moves, understood?"_ I nodded before running back into the building and taking the stairs up to the roof where another man was lying flat on his belly, looking through his rifle scope. I situated myself about 10 feet away from the mans position, and copied his actions by lying on my belly, kicking my wrecked high heels off in the process. I fiddled with my rifle, trying to adjust the sights. A thump on my left was heard and I turned my head to find a more precise scope lying there.

 _"_ _It's better for accuracy."_ The unfamiliar man said before continuing to look through his scope. I picked up the scope gratefully and quickly attached it to my rifle. I looked through my scope to see below the men's defence line, Lt General included holding a bolt- action rifle similar to mine.

I moved my scope where I was looking at to the direction the Germans were to be coming from. I spotted something move in the faint trees and passed it off as the wind until the view of a helmet unmistakably German appeared along with another helmet .

 _"_ _Scouts!"_ The man beside me hissed, I nodded through my scope, still keeping my eyes on the Germans. We sent a runner down to inform the Lt General and the boy quickly ran back up to tell us to each take them out, making sure they don't run back to their lines and inform their officers of our position.

 _"_ _I'll take the one on the left, you take the right one, on 3,"_ my fellow sharpshooter said, I nodded and aimed my gun on the helmet of the right German soldier.

"1..2..3!" I heard before two distinct shots ran out, breaking the unusual silence. I put another bullet in the chamber before I looked to where the two Germans were and found two bodies lying amongst the trees, blood spoiling the dirt.

 _"_ _Not bad, Lieutenant! I'm Sergeant Nikolai Alexandrov."_ He introduced himself with a more friendly smile and respect clearly in his eyes

 _"_ _Nice to meet you, I'm surprised with myself, its been a while since I shot a rifle, used to practise in Siberia with my father"_ I admitted with a blush at the compliment from the ruggedly handsome Sergeant.

 _"_ _A Siberian huntress, eh?"_ He asked with a rough chuckle when I nodded my head in confirmation. I looked through my scope for any more movement but couldn't find anymore. The peace won't last for long as the Germans will soon realise what happened to their soldiers soon when they don't come back after a few hours.

It was around 6 the next morning when I heard the boots of multiple men coming towards our position. I woke up the Sergeant beside me who glared at me for interrupting his beauty sleep. I pointed towards the Germans approaching and he looked through his scope and spotted them to as we sent a runner down to inform our superior. We kept an eye on what looked like a whole company of men, maybe more. The runner came back up and informed us that the Lt General wanted us to hold our fire till they get in nice and close towards us.

The waiting seemed to last forever, my scope had been following the captain of the German company the whole time. Our machine guns suddenly opened up and Nikolai got to work picking them off, the Germans were too focused on the machine guns to notice us on the roof. I got the Captain instantly, I noticed a NCO trying to direct his men before I put a bullet through his neck- stopping him from issuing orders. A few other soldiers were picked off before the Germans realised we were on the roof. A German stick grenade went off to where one machine crew were, silencing one of our guns before other men removed the bodies and took over their job. I could hear the Lt General shouting orders to our men down below. The Germans took cover amongst the trees and I couldn't see any of them enough to get a clear shot, we were now taking pot shots at anything that moved, hoping to hit something. The Germans were trying to advance but we had them pinned down and they couldn't go forward or backwards without more causalities being caused on their side.

I suddenly see a soldier with a panzerschreck aimed at Nikolai and I's position, I quickly take aim and fire but he sets it off a literal second before my bullet enters his head.

 _"_ _MOVE!"_ I shout in a panic as I push the sergeant off the roof with me, using a tree to break our fall, pieces from the roof flying everywhere as the shell hits our old position. I'm panting heavily, ears ringing from the explosion. I turn to where the defensive line of men are and just about glimpse the Lt General take a bullet to the shoulder. With adrenalin still pumping in my veins, I run with my head low towards where our leader lay.

 _"_ _Lieutenant Belikova!"_ he shouted when he saw me, relief clear in his eyes. I must have looked a state, with my soot covered face and now filthy uniform and ripped stockings.

 _"_ _I'm putting you in charge now, your my last commissioned officer left, defend this area girl!"_ He shouted the last bit just as he was carried into the ruins of what was left of the building. I didn't even have enough time to protest, I didn't know how to command a company, sure I went through officer training but it seemed like so long ago. I look towards the defence line of men, some looking at me in disbelief.

 _"_ _Sergeant Alexandrov!"_ I shouted for him to join me, he rushed over and I could tell that he heard every word exchanged between myself and our superior.

 _"_ _I've been put in charge, you need to get back up, somewhere high to pick them off, I need to stay on the ground and direct the ground troops."_ He nodded seriously and eyed a tree next to us in consideration before moving towards it. I turned to the line of defence men and ordered a few men to move around into better covered positions. I checked up on our ammunition supply for the machine guns before taking a position behind a sandbag and aiming my scope through a gap in the sandbags, I see two soldiers creeping up to our position and I quickly shoot them dead. I can hear Nikolai above taking shots too, I order a few grenades on a few trees nearby that I was certain had Germans hiding behind and I turn out to be right as they scream out in agony for what is probably a medic.

 _"_ _Lieutenant Belikova!"_ I turned my head to find the boy runner gesturing for me to go inside the CP from it's doorway, shaking the phone end of the radio urgently. I quickly run towards the boy, keeping my head down in case of any stray bullets.

 _"_ _It's Commander Resnov!"_ The boy shouted over the loud gunfire, pushing the phone end of the radio into my hands.

 _"_ _This is Lieutenant Belikova!"_ I introduced myself to the man on the other end of the radio.

 _"_ _Commander Resnov here, where's Lieutenant General Rokossovsky?"_ The rough voice on the radio asked in a demanding voice.

 _"_ _Wounded, I've been placed in charge, we urgently need reinforcements here Commander! We have a third of the men either killed or wounded, we don't have enough men to hold our position for long, ammunition is running low too!"_ I answered desperately, almost pleading for help.

 _"_ _My unit has just been filled with reinforcements and we are going to try to get to you as soon as we possibly can, hold your ground Lieutenant, that is a direct order from comrade Stalin!"_ He replied forcefully.

 _"_ _Yes Sir! How long roughly till you get here?"_ I asked with a sense of relief.

 _"_ _A few hours, hold on Lieutenant! Out!"_ He answered back before the line went dead. I rolled my eyes at his abrupt departure before grabbing my rifle and running out back into the fray.

3 Hours later...

The Germans have been holding on tight to the relative cover of the sparse trees. Our ammunition was nearly all gone. I passed the order round to make every shot count including the machine guns. I redistributed the ammunition so that everyone had at least 3 rounds each. We suffered 50% causalities. Commander Resnov's unit of men were still nowhere to be seen or heard from. Darkness was coming, where the Germans would most likely make their move toward our position, using the cover of darkness to hide their forms. Our rations of food and water were lasting so far, thank god that we were recently resupplied just before the assault started. When the sun set finally, I passed the word round to fix bayonets, preparing for the frontal assault.

Sergeant Alexandrov was still taking watch up in the tree he chose earlier in the day. I walk over to the tree and knock on the wood, signalling him to come down. He climbed down with ease, like he was used to it.

 _"_ _I'll take over your watch now,"_ I told him in a low voice. Light and sound discipline was enforced now that we couldn't see our enemy. Nikolai nodded and let out a silent yawn. I patted him on the shoulder as he moved to walk past me.

 _"_ _Get some food and water too!"_ I added before making my way to the tree the Sergeant was using as a snipers nest. I was just about to climb it when I heard a familiar whoosh in the air. I looked up to see a panzerschreck shell land in the tree that Nikolai was just in, and the one I was just about to climb. The force of the impact threw me off my feet and I landed about 10 feet away from my original position. I heard the Germans shouting loudly 'Attack! Go!'. I paled and ran, still disorientated towards the line of my men.

 _"_ _Here they come! Hold your ground!"_ I shouted down the line to the men when they began to twitch. I had my Tokarev pistol in one hand and my trench knife in my other hand. My stockings long ago were removed, my feet were bare and dirty from running around everywhere. All the other soldiers boots were too big for my small feet. When I saw the first helmet appear I shot a round from my semi- automatic straight into his head without hesitation. I could see some of my men engaging the enemy with their bayonets or even some with their fists. An older-looking German soldier approached me and attempted to impale me with his bayonet, I smirked, threw my helmet off to reveal my long dark hair. I grabbed his rifle and moved it to the side and then stuck my trench knife straight into his throat, I pushed it with so much force that it travelled all the way out the other side. I pulled my knife out and turned to find another German about to impale me when a shot rang out, causing the German to collapse, I look to see Nikolai with a smoking pistol in his hand and sent a wink at me cockily. I aim my gun behind him and pull the trigger, he looks behind him, shocked to see a dead German soldier who was going to kill him the same way the other soldier was going to do to me. I wink cockily at him mockingly.

 _"_ _Now we're even!"_ I shouted over the loud noise of gunshots and men crying out in pain. I engaged in a few more knife fights with clearly inexperienced German soldiers before they were ordered to retreat. When the last Germans retreated, I looked at the area where we were fighting. Bodies littered the floor, the majority German. We lost very few soldiers in this assault, most likely due to the fact that we are taught from a young age how to properly use a knife and hand to hand combat was vigorously learnt over and over again in training. Some say you can't beat a Russian in a knife fight, there right most of the time.

 _"_ _Lieutenant Belikova!"_ I heard behind me, I turned to find a tall, handsome man approaching from the east, groups of men trailing behind him.

 _"_ _Commander Resnov?"_ I asked uncertain.

 _"_ _Yes, I see you've had a bit of fun tonight eh?"_ He asked gesturing to the bodies littering the courtyard. He grinned sadistically and I frowned in response.

 _"_ _Yes it's been a great ball of fun."_ I answered sarcastically. This man doesn't knew the feeling of dread of being essentially by yourself against a strong enemy when they outnumbered your own 3 to 1.

 _"_ _You and your men are being relieved of your position, wounded are being evacuated back to Moscow centre, headquarters wants to talk to you, battle report and such... better get a move on Lieutenant!"_ He told me and I breathed a sigh of relief. We were all tired and weary after the 10 hour constant engagement with the Germans.

 _"_ _Okay, Sergeant Alexandrov,"_ I called Nikolai over from where he was standing overhearing the conversation between the Commander and myself already with a glare on his face, directed solely at the Commander.

 _"_ _Get the men prepared to move out, we leave in 10 minutes!"_ I ordered with a small smile. Nikolai nodded and rushed off to inform the men of our departure.

When I saw the Lt General being walked out and put in a troop truck with the other wounded, I decided to walk over and talk to him and see how he was doing.

 _"_ _Lieutenant General!"_ I called out to him, he halted his movements and turned round to face me. From where I was standing, his wound didn't seem fatal and he should be healed up in no time at all.

 _"_ _Lieutenant Belikova, I'm so proud of you my dear! You held your position, that is more than most senior officers do girl! You're a hero!"_ They were the last words he said to me before he was loaded onto the truck and driven north, back into the city centre. I turned round and spotted Sergeant Alexandrov standing in the back of a troop truck with the remaining men. I approached the truck and Nikolai extended a hand down to help me up. I accepted it appreciatively and settled in next to him for the long drive back up to division headquarters for briefing.

 _Fort Benning, Georgia, USA_

 _December 1942_

I was up at the crack of dawn the next day, possibly because of changes to my body's internal clock or most likely it was because of habit. I brush through my thick, dark hair that falls in big curls down to the middle of my back before putting it up into a high ponytail. I reach for my new uniform, given to me the previous day, similar to the other men's uniform I saw and look it up and down with a raised eyebrow. I slip into it and notice very quickly that it was not designed to accommodate a woman's curves at all, it seemed to be more fitting in all the places a woman in the army would not want to draw attention to. It hugged my full hips, slim waist and drew attention to my sizable bottom. The top part of the uniform wasn't as bad, my breasts were not very large so weren't on show as much as the bottom half of my person. I left a few buttons of my BDU's open to show the white shirt underneath. Lastly I attached the shiny silver bars on either side of my collar, showing my rank, I forgo the garrison cap and left it to hang from my belt, as I saw some men did yesterday, as well as my Tokarev in it's holster.

I opened the door of my cabin and stepped out into the still dark morning of Fort Benning. I headed towards the mess, walking past the other cabins, hearing from inside the men just waking up. I entered the big empty room full of wooden benches and made my way up to the serving counter, startling the cooking staff who I swear jumped 6ft in the air when they noticed my sudden appearance.

"Good Morning." I exclaimed with a polite smile on my face, a good nights sleep always improved my mood despite the unusual silence at night, I was always used to the loud noise of explosions.

"Good Morning, Captain!" They answered back with a salute which I returned in kind.

"At ease men, what's for breakfast?" I asked curiously, ravenous after the Germans tried to starve us out in Stalingrad.

"We have porridge, some apples-" the cook started to list quickly, nervously. I smiled in an attempt to calm him down and cut his sentence off before he would give himself a heart attack.

"Porridge and an apple would be lovely chef!" I replied quickly and he just as quickly served my meal with a small smile. I walked over to one of the wooden benches towards the back of the room and took a seat before lighting a smoke, waiting for my steaming hot porridge to cool down.

Soon after the loud, boisterous voices of men reached my ears. I didn't look up when they entered the mess, I continued to smoke my first cigarette of the day while looking down at the local paper. I skimmed the paper, looking for any news relating to Russia, but found no information that I didn't already know. The loud noise stopped when they noticed my form in the corner of the room.

"Good Morning" I said clearly without looking up from my newspaper. I heard mumbles of 'morning' back before their loud voices soon dominated the room again. Of course no one sat near me.

"Good morning Captain!" I heard two men say in sync as two shadows covered me in darkness. I looked up for the first time and saw two young Lieutenants holding a salute position, I rose slowly and returned the gesture.

"Please join me Lieutenants Winters, Nixon," I offered, gesturing to the table before me. They each slid onto the opposite side of the bench, surprise clear on both of their faces- whether because I invited them to join me or that I knew their names, probably a mixture of both I would imagine.

"It's way too early for salutes." I mumbled into my half eaten apple. Nixon grinned at me mischievously.

"Even for Colonel Sink?" he asked cheekily with a playful grin. I nodded with a return grin, Nixon seemed like a good man. Of course I had all the files on Easy company sent to me after I found out I'll be joining them. It's good to know what kind of men you'd be fighting side by side with.

"Didn't get much sleep Captain?" Lieutenant Winters asked politely, taking sips from his porridge, making a face at the bland taste.

"Oh I did but I've been sleep deprived for so long, I'm still tired all the time, since the Germans started their offensive at Stalingrad. Also please just call me Ana when we are not in front of others." I supplied honestly with a small smile towards the young two men.

"I bet it's very different here." Nixon stated, clearly having no idea what it's like to be up all hours of the day, the constant fear of being killed or friends dying in front of you. I made a sound of agreement. I lit up another cigarette before speaking again.

"I'm too used to the sound of explosions, men crying for their mothers, Germans singing- typically they have a bad voice but maybe I'm biased." I listed nonchalantly without looking at the two but just staring off into space remembering Moscow and Stalingrad.

"You'll find out soon enough," I said with a wink and smirk, snapping out of my daydream of the ruins of Stalingrad.

"Excuse me Gentlemen." I said getting up and walking past other tables that fell silent when I did, to put my now empty bowl in the dirty pile and the core of my eaten apple in the bin next to it. As I walked past the counter, I caught the chefs attention.

"Lovely porridge today chef!" I complimented the man accompanied by the most beautiful wide smile I could put on. He blushed and mumbled a 'thanks ma'am' in reply. I turned round and walked towards the exit, once I departed the mess hall, I could hear the voices of men start up again.

...Line Break...

That woman was a force to be reckoned with. I watched with my eyes as she chewed out my commanding officer effortlessly without concern of repercussions from said sadistic officer. She passed us shortly after and we all exchanged salutes in respect of this fierce woman who could put our tormentor of almost a year in his place with few words needed. I caught the woman's stunning emerald eyes and we smirked to each other as if it was an inside joke we both shared together. Many of us turned back to watch the gorgeous woman walk away towards the Colonels hut, myself included.

"Jesus Christ Lieb, I think I'm in love!" George Luz exclaimed next to me, many of the men nodding in agreement with Luz's statement. I didn't have time to say anything before Sobel was upon us again, herding us towards our cabins to get changed and ready for breakfast in the mess tent.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 _Fort Benning, Georgia, USA_

 _December 1942_

"Easy Company! You are at the position of attention!" I heard the tyrant exclaim as he finally came marching towards his company who he left standing for hours before he decided to come see if they followed his orders. I stood leaning against a hut, viewing the whole exchange in disgust. I then in disbelief witnessed him systematically pick on nearly every man in the company, NCO's included, in an attempt to dampen their morale and take their weekend passes away from them. I respected these men even more for being able to hold themselves back from beating the pompous Sobel to death. I lit a cigarette and took a puff before deciding to approach Sobel and his company. I reached his side just as he was finished chewing out the man with the brown eyes that I locked with when I first reached fort Benning.

"Captain Sobel." I greeted quietly and I watched with barely suppressed glee when he jumped in surprise as he realised I'm standing next to him. For reasons that I can't explain, I smirked at the tall brown eyed soldier once again and I noticed a crinkle at the corner of his mouth as if he was suppressing a smirk.

"Captain Belikova!" Sobel exclaimed with a salute that I returned reluctantly. I walked up and down along the line of men and noticed that all their eyes faced forwards and none locked eyes with me or broke their stance. They seemed to be well trained despite their non-existent experience in combat.

"You have a fine company of soldiers under your command Captain." I complimented the soldiers more than their leader but Sobel took it to mean that his training was the cause of this and then thought the compliment was more for him. I could half agree with that because of the training that I've seen him put them through no doubt made them want to train harder just to spite the sadistic man.

"Thank you Captain Belikova, that is a great compliment coming from you. Colonel Sink has told me stories of what you've done in battle. I am very pleased to serve beside you, however long you'll be with us." Sobel boasted with eager eyes. Well his tune seems to have changed since Colonel Sink talked to him about respecting me more.

"Thank you Captain Sobel, I'm sure your company would by far be the best when I'm through with teaching them shooting and hand to hand combat." I added absentminded. I was told by Colonel Sink yesterday that I was going to train Easy company to the high standard of my old unit, they would be the best and Germany better be scared when Easy company gets deployed.

"But Captain... We already learnt shooting and hand to hand at Toccoa" Sobel blurted out in surprise. I turned to look at Captain Sobel unsurprised with being uninformed of the change of training schedule. I looked back at the soldiers and saw them glancing at each other in surprise also.

"I am aware. This will be a... how'd you say? Advanced training?" I asked unsure of if what I said sounded right to their ears.

"It won't interrupt the schedule, your jump training doesn't start till January and till then it would just be physical training which I would say is not necessary since your boys are in top shape already" I finished telling Sobel loudly so the men heard my compliment, by the puffing of their chests in pride and standing straighter at attention, I would say they heard clearly.

"When would this training start?" Sobel asked suddenly, annoyance in his voice from no doubt me taking away his favourite play toys.

"This afternoon, tell your company to assemble in the field next to the shooting range after lunch, officers included. No excuses for not being there." I ordered Captain Sobel in an authoritive voice. I looked to my left and saw someone I know, I knew I would be running into him eventually since the last letter I received before the battle for Stalingrad said that he joined up for the airborne.

"Ronald Speirs!" I shouted, shocking the company, Sobel included. Ronnie stomped out his cigarette before walking over towards me.

"Captain Belikova!" He greeted with a smirk and salute which I returned when I noticed his shiny silver bars. He didn't seem too surprised to see me.

"First Lieutenant Speirs. What man in his right mind let you graduate officer school or even promote you to a first Lieutenant?" I asked teasingly with a matching smirk.

"Probably the same crazy man who decided that you should be a Captain, haven't heard from you in a while." Speirs replied cheekily before becoming serious.

"Yeah that's probably got something to do with my country being invaded." I snarked back grimly.

"Yeah heard about that, I knew you would be okay though." I smiled in response before turning to see all of easy company watching the exchange between us. I smirked at the shocked faces including Winters usually passive face.

"Till this afternoon Captain Sobel, lets go have lunch Ronnie" I departed, placing my arm through Ron's.

"I swear if you call me Ronnie one more time..." Ron threatened in a dangerously low voice, I just laughed knowing he was bluffing.

"Yeah, you'll do what, big brother?" I asked and stopped walking when we were far away from easy and they couldn't possibly overhear our conversation. I took a moment to really look at my brother, he was as handsome as ever if not more so. His green eyes were the same as mine and his dark hair hadn't changed at all except for the mandatory army hair cut. I could tell he was looking at me too. His eyes narrowed when he spotted the dark bags under my eyes.

"You haven't been looking after yourself properly," He noted in a dark voice and his face tensed where he wore a strict frozen expression. I could always see through his strict facades though.

"How is Natasha?" Ron asked curiously as we began to start walking again, towards the mess for lunch. My stomach was rumbling uncontrollably at the prospect of hot food.

"Dead, 1941', it was a mercy really, who knows what those animals would have done to her if she were still alive." I answered with a straight face, trying not to think about all the things the Germans had done to the women over the last 2 years.

"Sorry to hear about your mother, Ana," Ron said after a pause to digest the news. I smiled in thanks before we entered the half full mess hall and lined up for our food. We found a bench recently vacated and sat down opposite each other in silence, just enjoying each others presence after so long apart. Our silence was soon interrupted by the sound of a tray landing on my left. I looked up from the tray to see Nixon's smirking face and couldn't help but smile back at the snarky man. I saw Winters still standing up, unsure whether to sit unlike his bold companion.

"Mind if we join you?" Nixon asked after he sat down next to me and tucked into his lunch like a starving man. I nodded in agreement and Winters finally decided to sit next to Ron, opposite Nixon.

"That was quite a telling you gave Sobel, Captain." Nixon stated mischievously with a smirk between bites of his meal.

"Please call me Ana and I was just telling Sobel what I got told to do," I replied neutrally even though It gave me some satisfaction in seeing the annoying Captain caught off guard. I spied Ron smirking into his plate and decided to shut him up.

"Stop smirking Ron or I'll break your face!" I threatened loudly in irrational anger. I don't know about other peoples relationship with their siblings but mine is a constant tug of war of who can annoy the other the most.

"oh yeah like you could!" He replied still smirking, mockingly, keeping eye contact with me with identical green eyes. I hated it when he deliberately wound me up. We both have a temper, inherited it from our father unfortunately. From my peripheral vision I could see Winters pulling back from the table, looking like he wants to be invisible. Lew as Winters affectionately calls him breaks our intense stare with his thick New Jersey accent.

"I was wondering how you guys know each other..." Nixon prompted curiously leaning over the table in anticipation. I even saw Winters look up curious as to our answer.

"Ronnie is my annoying brother." I stated with a smirk, leaning back crossing my arms when I saw his face turn into a scowl at my nickname for him.

"Ana is my baby sister!" he huffed out in displeasure. I could see Nixon and Winters looking shocked and surprised and Ron and I shared a smirk at shocking the two Lieutenants into stunned silence.

"Well now that you mention it, I did think your eyes were pretty similar but I still don't understand-" Nixon broke the stunned silence and Ron decided to cut his sentence off, explaining our complicated family.

"We are half siblings but don't really think of it like that, have the same father who was married to my mother before divorcing her and marrying Ana's mother." Ron explained simply in a no nonsense tone. Of course he left out the part where our father was a notorious womaniser and drifted in and out of his marriages, he was a temporary figure in my life and from what Ron's told me about his childhood, he was a temporary figure there too.

"Wow Ronnie Speirs has a little sister, ay?" Nixon teased with his mouth full of food. My brother and I both glared at him instantaneously and he recoiled in surprise, not in fear like we wanted.

"Whoa, yeah you're definitely siblings, can't mistake it with that death glare!" Nixon continued cheekily. I relaxed and couldn't supress the small smile at Nixon's childish behaviour that has begun to grow on me unknowingly.

"Well, lunchtime has been fun but now I'm going to think of ways to torture your soldiers for this afternoons lecture!" I exclaimed with a huge smile as I thought of embarrassing Sobel in particular.

"Wow she's definitely your sister Ron!" Nixon cheekily said with a mischievous wink at me. I could see Winters nodding in agreement with Nixon and a small grimace graced his handsome face.

"Don't worry Winters, I have more sinister plans involving Sobel than your men." I whispered to the well respected officer, in an effort to put him at ease as I walked past and headed for the door of the mess hall. I could tell that he genuinely cared for the men in his company, a rare occurrence in the army, that made me respect the red haired Lieutenant even more. I had just exited the mess when something hard knocked into me but I managed to keep my balance and reached my hands out to steady the other person who stumbled into me. I looked up slowly to meet the chocolate brown eyes that I remember belonged to the smirking man in Easy. I quickly snapped out of my haze and took a step back, removing my hands from his arms.

"Sorry Captain, wasn't looking where I was going." The man spoke with a husky masculine voice that caused a shiver to travel up my spine. He quickly gave me a salute, remembering who I am.

"It's alright private, I wasn't being very attentive to my whereabouts either." I confessed with a small smile that wasn't commonly seen on my face.

"I'm Private Joseph Liebgott but I prefer just Joe, would you care for a cigarette ma'am?" The mysterious brown eyed soldier asked, getting a pack of American cigarettes out from a pocket on his uniform.

"Sure, I've never tried American cigarettes before. By the way, please don't call me ma'am, just Ana's fine when we aren't in front of other officers, Sobel called me ma'am when he first met me and I nearly throttled him." I replied at ease in the soldiers company. We moved to sit on a wooden picnic bench opposite each other, out of the way of the mess room doors. I took a cigarette from the offered pack and Joe provided me with his lighter. Joe took a puff of his own cigarette before he started talking again.

"Yeah we saw you getting angry when we were standing a few feet away, it's all in your eyes, your emotions I mean. So what's the verdict with the cigarette?" Joe answered back, completely at ease in my presence too which is strange as most men are always tense before me except Ron and now Nixon and Winters sometimes.

"Yes it's quite enjoyable thanks, not as strong as the Russian brands though." I replied truthfully, puffing away on what the Americans call 'Lucky strikes'.

"The boys and I were wondering if you would like to come to a poker game tonight at our bunks, get to know our new officer better and that." Joe asked with his heavy accent that I haven't yet identified, after he finished his puffing stick. I hesitated, unsure if it was really appropriate for an officer to participate in their card games let alone being a female in a barracks of men after hours before I resolved myself to attend so I can strengthen my relations with the men I'll be fighting alongside with as well as to get to know them, just like I did with my squad back in Russia.

"Sure, what hut?" I answered a minute after pondering the request from Joe.

"Hut 206, 8 o'clock. Shit, I'm gonna grab myself an apple before your lesson starts in ten minutes." Joe exclaimed after looking at his watch. I looked at my own watch and saw that 10 minutes had passed by without my knowledge.

"Sorry I kept you from your lunch, I've got to go too." I apologised, feeling guilty for starving the tall, skinny man.

"It's okay Ana, don't worry about it, see you in a bit." He replied with the smirk I was fondly getting used to before walking back towards the emptying mess. I turned away from the direction of the mess with a smirk of my own and met the intense eyes of my brother standing 20 feet away, glaring at the back of Joes head before he switched his focus to me. I wiped my face clear of any emotion that I was displaying but I knew just like Joe said, my green eyes gave away my true feelings. If my eyes didn't then I'm sure the stomping of my feet as I passed my brother in silence sure did. I'm surprised no one has figured out the relation between Ron and I yet, the similarities I've heard are uncanny. Why does Ron always pick the wrong times to act like a protective brother?

...Line Break...

I'm the first to show up at the field, the place for my first lesson this afternoon, unsurprisingly. I bring along a small shovel, that they would jump with and a M1 Garand with a bayonet attached at the end of the barrel. The first trickle of men appear a few minutes after I arrive. Sobel was the last to arrive apart from the still missing Joe. I was about to open my mouth to start speaking when I saw Joe arrive, was clearly running from the red face he was displaying and Sobel wasted no time in picking on the poor man.

"Private Liebgott! Being late is inexcusable-" Sobel started to rant and I decided to cut him off before he got too carried away which I knew he was prone to do.

"It's quite alright Captain, Private Liebgott was running an errand for me, his lateness is excused." I lied expertly in a low tone that could be heard clearly through the company. The men exchanged confused looks between themselves as I assume they saw him getting lunch and not running an errand for me. Two men that looked initially confused started to grin wolfishly and decided to let out a low whistle. Sobel frowned and was about to say something before I cut in before him.

"Guarnere, Toye thank you for volunteering." I said with an evil smirk pointed straight at the dark haired men. Their grins soon dropped from their faces as I put on an expression that my brother calls 'pure evil'.

"Volunteering for what exactly Captain?" Guarnere asked hesitantly in a thick Philly accent. Private Toye was shuffling his feet next to Guarnere anxiously.

"To demonstrate what you've learnt so far, you're partnered with Toye to spar, ready when you are." I answered in a matter of fact tone, crossing my arms expectantly and ushering the men to watch the two men. They both hesitated for a second before getting into positions like they were taught and started to throw punches that sometimes landed correctly and some that were deflected. After 5 minutes I told them to stop.

"Not bad, could be better, Private Randleman spar with me?" I commented not overly impressed at the shallow bits of knowledge the hand to hand combat teachers taught. Private Randleman was the biggest man in the company and from what I've heard, he is also one of the kindest. Randleman hesitated and I smiled to reassure him that it's ok.

"Sorry ma'am it's just I've never hit a woman before." He explained in his rough country voice.

"You still might not now." I teased lightly with a smile that lit up my normally cold green eyes. Randleman gave out a deep chuckle before shredding his kit and getting into a prepared position. The rest of the men seemed to all awaken with renewed interest when they realised I was going to spar with the biggest man in their company. I accidentally met the eyes of Joe and saw the worried crinkle in the middle of his eyebrows that he was displaying, it's laughable how much they doubt my abilities just because I am a woman.

"Ready, Captain?" Randleman asked anxiously, probably in fear of hurting me but I was completely relaxed and standing normally upright while Randleman was in a position with his knees locked, bracing himself.

"Sure." I replied, completely at ease. I next thing I knew, Randleman was running towards me, ready to land a punch to my torso. I quickly manoeuvred myself out of the way and ended up behind him where I forcefully kneed his bent leg and sent him tumbling to the ground. He turned over onto his back and looked very surprised. I offered a hand to help him up and he accepted it gratefully.

"How'd you move that fast?" Randleman asked in bewilderment. I just smiled mischievously in response until a weasel faced man pushed his way to the front of the men.

"That's not much of a fight, I thought you were going to show us better moves than our instructors!" Private Cobb sneered.

"Would you like to spar with me private Cobb? with 12 years experience in the army behind you I'm sure you'll make a good spar partner." I asked with a cold glare aimed at the rude little man. He frowned confused and I could hear him mumble clearly 'How'd you know about-'. I just shot him a inviting smirk and a gesture of my hand to where Randleman and I were standing a few minutes ago. He walked over to where I gestured and positioned himself similarly to Randleman. I nodded as an indicator to start and he immediately rushed towards me with his fist raised, aiming for my face. What he didn't count on was me grabbing his fist before it made contact and twist it and his whole arm behind his back painfully. I pulled on his shoulder forcefully, dislocating it swiftly. The private let out a scream of pain but I wasn't done yet. He tried to kick me behind him but I quickly beat him to it and sent a hard kick into his non-dominant leg and he fell onto the ground hard, he didn't bother to get back up again. I waved the company's medic over, Eugene Roe.

"Take a man to help you move Private Cobb over to the infirmary, you'll find that he has a dislocated shoulder and bruised tibia." While I was conversing with the quiet medic I heard a conversation from behind me, coming from the direction of the men.

"Hey Johnny, I think I got let off easy!" I heard come from Randleman's distinctive voice. "Yeah Bull, I think your right." The voice of another unknown male answered softly.

"Ok, pair up with a partner and start sparring!" I said loudly, getting the men's attention and jumping most of them out of their shocked haze. They quickly paired up and I smirked when I saw Lew playfully putting up his fists like a prized boxer in a threatening manner towards his partner Winters who just rolled his eyes at his childish companion. Thankfully Sobel didn't see Lew's messing about. The sadistic officer in question ended up being partnered with First Sergeant Evans- a perfect match from what I have heard from around base about the two most hated men in nearly the whole 101st.

I walked around the pairs of men sparring and helped some with advice of mostly remembering to keep their guard up all the time. I came round to see Joe sparring with a small dark haired man with large brown eyes. I could from where I was standing that Joe was frowning in annoyance as the other man was grinning cheekily, I walked closer to hear what they were talking about.

"Aww Joey stop your pouting, I'm just too quick for ya," I heard Private Luz say teasingly as they circled each other.

 **"** **'** **Hey, stupid! Where do you think you're going? Get back there with the herd, you muttonhead!'"** George exclaimed suddenly in a impersonation I knew too well.

"What the fuck you just call me?" Joe asked angrily, his face starting to become red in rage. I decided to step in before George Luz was beat into the ground.

"Westward Ho 1935, John Wyatt played by John Wayne." I explained, walking over to them surprising them. George Luz's jaw dropped to the floor in shock. He tried to talk but he couldn't seem to get his words out.

"Snap out of it George." Joe said nudging George with his elbow, embarrassed at his reaction.

"Marry me." George managed to stumble out finally. By now all the company had stopped sparring and was watching the exchange before all three of us. I just laughed him off awkwardly and tied my high ponytail into a tight bun at the crown of my head.

"Sorry private Luz but I'm not looking for a husband at the moment." I replied truthfully with a kind smile, letting him down gently.

"It's alright, there's always after the war ay?" He got his words out easier than before. I nodded reassuringly when in my mind I was thinking if I was even going to survive the war at the rate I was going at. I could Joe glaring at George angrily, probably from before when George was mocking the short tempered man. I walked away as a sign for them all to continue with their sparring matches. I came across a red headed man and a light brown haired man awkwardly trying to hurt each other but it was clear to see that their hearts weren't really in it.

"Malarkey, Muck, put some effort in it at least," I said to the two men who just seemed to be content to lay a half hearted punch.

"What if you lose your equipment on the jump and don't know how to fight properly without a weapon?" I asked rhetorically, trying to get through to the men.

"You'll die! Is that what you want Private Malarkey?" I asked in my 'officer' voice. They both seemed to snap to attention before me and Malarkey shook his head quickly.

"Private Muck?" I asked him the same and received a swift shook of his head.

"Malarkey your sparring with me." I ordered and saw the young soldier take a deep gulp in fear. Most likely of what I did to Private Cobb earlier but this situation is different. Cobb needed to learn a harsh lesson. Malarkey just needs to be guided some. I nodded for him to start and he came at me, intending for a jab to my side which I caught easily. I shook my head unimpressed

"You need to move faster private, also if you aimed for my gut, the blow would be more effective. Again." I explained letting with fist go and got back into a ready position. He nodded and moved to land a fist to my gut like I said, I knocked his arm away and he immediately recovered and threw another jab that hit home in my shoulder and made me take a few steps back.

"Better Malarkey." I complimented. I could see his face crease anxiously as he just hit a superior officer but my remark made him smile pleased at my compliment.

"Thanks but I know you let me get a hit in on purpose Captain." Malarkey replied with a small smile.

"Lets keep practising till you get a jab in fairly then. Again." I said getting ready to defend myself. The hand to hand combat lesson carried on into the late afternoon and I feel like I've made some improvement with some of their stances as well as trying them to move faster which I can imagine will be much slower when we get dropped into occupied territory because of all the excess kit we would have to carry.

...Line Break...

I walked up the steps to the wooden hut, 206. I decided to take my hair down from it's usual tight ponytail, in an attempt to appear casual in front of the men. My long hair flowed down around my clean OD's I decided to put on for tonight and decided like most days to not wear the dreadful garrison cap that always seemed to mess my hair up even if it was tied up. I heard quite a few loud voices from inside before I raised my hand and knocked 3 times loudly to get their attention. The voices seem to stop all of a sudden and I heard one set of heavy footsteps approach the door. The wooden door opened to reveal Joe's face, that turned into a smirk I knew all too well by now.

"Hey Joe." I greeted like we've been friends a long time.

"Ana, come in. Your lucky we were just about to start." Joe said in response. Joe stepped back to let me into the room. Nearly the whole company was assembled in the small room and all eyes were on me when I stepped over the threshold.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 _Fort Benning, Georgia, USA_

 _December 1942_

"Good evening gentleman." I greeted them with as friendly a smile as I could, even though I felt a bit nervous with many pairs of eyes watching me.

"Well Joe, I actually thought you were pulling my leg when you said the Captain was joining us!" Bill Guarnere exclaimed amazed. Joe shook his head while running his hand through his hair in mild embarrassment.

"I told ya she would join us!" Joe said in response while pulling an empty chair out and gesturing for me to sit down.

"I hope you don't mind me joining you." I exclaimed with a small, welcoming smile while I made my way over to the seat Joe pulled out for me. I gave a small smile to Joe in thanks as I sat around a table, brushing shoulders with Malarkey and Joe Toye as we crammed in close for the upcoming poker game. A few more men had seats around the table but the rest were standing up and leaning over to watch the game. A few were just laying on their beds and listening in to the conversations.

"Naa, your plenty welcome 'aptain!" Wild Bill spoke for the group. We soon started playing poker, George was dealing the cards with a smoke dangling from the side of his mouth the whole time. After 2 games of playing and losing I huffed a sigh and leaned back in my chair while searching for my Russian brand cigarettes.

"Lighter Ana?" Malarkey asked from beside me with his cute little smile. I asked the men to call me Ana just like I asked Dick and Lewis the other day, with the exception of being in front of other officers.

"Cheers Don," I replied with a smile of thanks. The small barracks was filled with smoke from nearly all the men puffing on their lucky strikes. George was distracted, teasing Perconte about his height and hadn't dealt the cards for the next game yet.

"So what part of America are you from Malark?" I asked curiously, while puffing away on my cancer stick. An Amercian accent slipping in slightly when conversing with them.

"Astoria, Oregon, it's a pretty small town, ya probably never heard of it." Malarkey replied with a glint in his eye while talking about his hometown.

"Oregon...hmm...West coast yeah?" I thought it over when picturing the map of America my brother gifted to me when I was younger.

"How'd ya know that?" Joe Liebgott butted in, surprised. Malarkey's eyebrows rose into his hairline also, a few of the other guys stopped their conversation to listen to my answer intrigued.

"My brother gave me a map of America when I was younger, did ya know Russia and America's closest point is only 50 or so miles away from each other." I told them knowingly. Most of their faces displayed surprise.

"No shit!" George exclaimed in surprise around the smoke hanging from the corner of his mouth. I nodded in agreement before putting out my smoke in the ashtray.

"New game George c'mon and maybe you'll win this time Ana ay?" Bill teased me with a smirk. I groaned, rubbing a hand down my face in part exhaustion and part in frustration. The men were all grinning cheekily at me and I couldn't help but give them a slight smile in response.

"I don't understand why I'm losing, every time my cards turn up to be utter shit!" I moaned while pouting. Joe was staring at me quite intensely and I clicked my fingers in front of his face, breaking him out of his daze.

"What's up with you?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow, while twirling a lock of my hair around my finger absentmindedly.

"Probably thinking that your totally adorable!" Talbert butted in with a handsome, flirtatious grin. I frowned in response while crossing my arms. Joe was glaring at Talbert but didn't say anything in his defence.

"I am not adorable!" I protested immediately while shooting a glare their way.

"Sorry to break it to ya toots but ya definitely are," Bill's thick philly accent exclaimed with a chuckle at my not so pleased expression. I only rolled my eyes at their so obviously wrong observation.

"You have big innocent-like green eyes, beautiful long dark hair and your like 5ft5 at the most!" Bill finished explaining with all the other men nodding in agreement.

"Hey! Everyone stop flirting with my future wife!" George exclaimed loudly over all the different conversations that began to break out simultaneously after Bills comment. George glared in particularly at Talbert, who held up his arms in a surrender gesture while winking at me cheekily, as well as Bill who just shrugged indifferently to Georges declaration.

"Yeah right, like she's gonna marry ya Georgie." Perconte said while patting his back in sympathy. I only rolled my eyes at their dramatics while trying to supress a smile around my newly lit cigarette. I caught Joe's eyes and we shared a smirk while I shook my head at George and Perconte who were pretending to cry together over the loss of the future 'Mrs Luz'.

"I'm too young to get married anyway." I commented when Georges dramatic performance ended. Joe Toye raised his head at that comment. It seemed like no one wanted to play poker anymore and were more interested in conversation now.

"How old are ya anyway?" He asked in his deep husky voice that I found attractive. I raised my eyebrow and was about to respond when George opened his big mouth.

"Hey weren't you taught to never ask a Lady's age? I found out the hard way that they get real sensitive about that!" George asked him rhetorically while scratching his head uncomfortably as if remembering a not so pleasant memory. I smiled at George and his never ending humour that I'm starting to adore.

"18," I said suddenly, not staring at any of them but trying to concentrate on smoking my limited supply of cigarette.

"I'm 18." I confirmed while looking up at the men confidently although I held some reservations to what they would think of someone much younger than some of them leading them in battle.

"Holy Shit! I knew you were young but I didn't think you were that young!" Bill exclaimed with wide eyes, staring at me intensely like the other men were.

"Your 18 Bill." Joe Liebgott pointed out defensively with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah but I'm not a Captain am I?" Bill's thick accent was heard in response. Joe didn't bother to say anything else but he wasn't looking at Bill with a happy face either.

"I was commissioned as a Junior Lieutenant which I suppose is the equivalent to your Second Lieutenant rank when I was 17 and served as a secretary to a Lieutenant General," I started to explain my story briefly, not getting into too much detail. They all looked over at me with burning curiosity and eagerness. George was nearly bursting from the seams when I took a quick pause to take a drag from my smoke.

"Our Command post was set up just outside Moscow when the Germans set up the offensive to take Moscow. We came under heavy artillery fire before the siege started, one of the commanders company on our flanks retreated without telling us so our CP was under direct attack." I said in a dreamy, reminiscent voice. Remembering every moment that happened that day. I still have nightmares about what would have happened if we couldn't hold our ground. I turned to take a quick look at the men to see if they were still listening and they were all staring at me impatiently, especially George who was nearly bouncing in his chair at this point.

"We only had 80 or so men and a couple of machine guns against the advancing German army. Word came down from headquarters that we were to defend the ground to the last man. I was on top of the CP building as a sniper with Nikolai when they came, we picked off as many as we could before they fired a panzerschreck at our position, causing me to push us over the side of the building, falling two storeys to the ground. The Lieutenant General was wounded shortly after and left me in charge of the remaining soldiers as I was the last commissioned officer left. The siege lasted 12 hours before reinforcements broke through and sent us to recuperate back at headquarters. I was awarded the hero of the Soviet Union medal and promoted to Senior Lieutenant. I was given the chance to put together a special operations unit and we fought at Stalingrad where I was promoted again to Captain and was shortly after pulled out to join you guys." I finished my story while not looking at anyone in particular as I stewed over the last year. I'm surprised that I'm even alive and that I survived the worst year of my life so far.

"Wow, you are one tough dame." Bill exclaimed, breaking the stunned silence and the others nodded in agreement. I rolled my eyes at Bill's comment that I assume was intended to be a compliment.

"I am certainly happy that you are our officer and not our enemy." Joe joked, breaking the awkwardness after the telling of my story. I smiled at Joe who stared at me with a undecipherable expression. Before I could say anything else, the door to the barracks slammed open and in walked my irritable brother.

"Why is your lights still on?!" Ron said in a menacing deep voice but not loud as he hardly needs to raise his voice to intimidate the soldiers. The soldiers jumped and Lipton stood up at attention almost immediately as he tried to spit the words out to explain. I just scoffed loudly, drawing attention to myself as everyone looked at me, Ron included, for the first time since he entered the barracks.

"You're interrupting our poker game Speirs." I said calmly around the cigarette dangling from the side of my mouth as I shuffled the deck of cards in my hands without looking at him. The Bostonian accent that I adopted from Ron coming out, when conversing with him.

"Ana, you can't even follow the rules for a week before breaking them?" Ron asked rhetorically in exasperation. I looked up for the first time since he came in and replied with a 'Nope' popping the P, just to annoy him, I looked him in the eyes- identical green eyes- and tried to show my defiance to his babying of me. The rest of the men were looking around the room- trying to act oblivious, as to not be pulled into this battle being fought between us.

"I guess I should have expected it from you but I had hoped you would have grown up over the years!" Ron exclaimed in an angry tone.

"I am grown up, I am currently a Captain in the Russian Red army and am acting as a Liaison officer in the U.S 101st Airborne. Doesn't get much more grown up than that." I said slowly in response, trying to get a rise out of my short tempered brother. The men were clearly uncomfortable in the presence of our sibling show down and were trying not to move so they don't get pulled into our argument.

"Anastasia Speirs!" He reprimanded me, his face was starting to get red and I let out a tiny chuckle in amusement despite feeling anger for using my no good fathers last name instead of mine and my mothers.

"That's not my name." I said simply, trying to not show my anger and that he's getting a rise out of me. The other men were looking at each other in confusion and I sighed in annoyance as he revealed my parentage before I could tell the men excluding Dick and Lew, who already knew.

"It was once. Outside Anastasia now!" He responded with a softer tone before he demanded me to move our conversation away from prying ears. I continued to shuffle the deck in my hand as I ponder to myself whether I've annoyed him enough for my taste.

"I don't think you're really in the position to demand anything of me, plus you didn't say the magic word." I replied mockingly as I reminded him of my superior rank with a smug smirk as I knew I had Ron right where I wanted him.

"Please." He said after a long pause to calm himself down but it still came out quite strained. I took my time getting up off the chair and collecting my pack of cigarettes and lighter which I placed in one of my many pockets.

"Excuse me gentlemen, I have a bit of family business to sort out." I addressed them, not caring to hide my affiliations with Ron now that he basically revealed our relationship already. I briefly brushed my shoulders with Ron when I walked past him and out the hut's door into the cool Georgian air. His loud stomping feet not that much further behind. Ron closed the hut's door and turned to face me with cold, hard eyes.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He asked me angrily. I scoffed and turned away from facing him, instead choosing to stare at the moon.

"I call it playing poker, what do you call it?" I replied sarcastically, riling him up even more.

"Enough with the sarcasm already! Do you know what would have happened if Sobel caught you?" Ron asked exasperated.

"He would have ratted on you to Colonel Sink about inappropriate behaviour with the men and could have you sent back to Russia! You hold a delicate position here Ana!" Ron continued while running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Good, I'd prefer to be in the heat of battle than go through training to be a paratrooper!" I lashed out spitefully, hardening my green eyes, so similar to my brothers.

"You could be killed!" Ron growled with a hint of hurt. I sighed, taking a deep breath to calm myself before meeting my brothers eyes without hesitation.

"The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier's supposed to function: without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends upon it. You'll understand when you get into combat Ron." I told him grimly, without breaking eye contact with him.

"We may not have seen each other in the last few years Ana but you are still my little sister and I would rather die than let anything bad happen to you." He calmly exclaimed looking down from his tall height to meet my eyes, his eyes softening as he stroked the side of my neck which displayed the thin scar I received at Stalingrad. I placed my hand on top of his hand at my neck and stroked it softly with an accompanying smile.

"I think that we have both grown up a lot since the last time we met and I feel like we have to get to know each other again." I voiced my opinion with a sad smile.

"I agree, we definitely need some sibling bonding time but for now I think it's time for bed." Ron replied with a genuine smile that I loved and missed over the years.

"Okay, I'm just gonna say goodnight to the guys and I'll be right out." I explained before breaking contact with Ron and heading in the direction of the door of hut 206.

"I'll wait out here for you." Ron said as I opened the hut door in a no nonsense tone. I briefly rolled my eyes at his protectiveness before heading inside of the unusually quiet hut.

"Urgh, my brother always spoils my fun." I said to the men as I walked through the doorway. The men all looked at me in surprise, even the men that were just lying on their beds were sat up in shock.

"Brother?! We thought he was a cousin or something." George choked out. I laughed and shook my head in denial.

"Naa, we share the same father but it's been quite a few years since I've last seen him so he seems to think it's his responsibility to fulfil his big brother duties of keeping me out of trouble." I explained casually but I couldn't help but roll my eyes at Ron's unnecessary behaviour.

"Wow, I can't believe you're Sparky's little sister, actually your mannerisms are kinda similar." Bill added, nodding his head as if to absorb the new information.

"Yeah I get told that a lot," I said with a frown, not seeing the similarities.

"I guess that explains why your accent constantly switches from Russian to a Boston-like accent." Joe Toye commented, his eyes lighting up as he finally cracked the mystery that was running around in his head. I just nodded in confirmation.

"Anyway he's waiting outside to walk me back to my hut so I'll see ya guys tomorrow, goodnight." I informed them with a tired smile and sending Joe Liebgott a special smile discreetly in thanks for him inviting me to the poker game night. I feel so much better after tonight, getting to know the men personally instead of just reading their file. There was various shouts of goodnight from the men before I headed back through the door and into the cool night air. Ron and I took a slow gentle walk back to my hut that wasn't that far away from the men's. We reached the wooden door and Ron turned to face me.

"Please don't be reckless with your position Ana, I'd rather have you here where I can protect you than back in Russia where I won't even know if you died or not." He pleaded with me with sadness in his eyes. I leaned up and kissed his forehead, like I used to do when we were children and our only worry was when we would see each other again.

"Ron you can't protect me from the war. No one can. If it's my time to go then it's my time, just know that I won't go down without a fight also I'll try not to be careless anymore." I replied truthfully with a sad smile. He nodded in acknowledgement with a small smile before wishing me goodnight and leaving me on my huts doorstep.

-Line Break-

The next day brought us mild weather for this time of year as well as a grumpy Captain Sobel. I groaned when I got up this morning from the late night before and smiled as I remembered the conversations that I had with the men from last night, they really were a funny, friendly and amazing bunch that I'll gladly go in to combat with, however today is the day I teach them shooting and I won't be satisfied till I see for myself how well they can put a bullet through a target. I look at my watch and notice that I really need to get up or I'll miss breakfast so with much effort I pull myself away from my warm cot and into a clean set of OD's. I just remembered to put a set of sunglasses over my eyes to shield my dark bags that are inevitably more prominent today before heading to the mess hall. I already saw from the corner of my eye Winters and Nixon sitting together without my brother lurking near by and my lips twitched in a slight smile. When I walked past the men they each gave me a 'Morning Captain', George held a cheeky grin on his face when looking at me and I shot a glare his way but then remembered he couldn't see my eyes and the glare without taking the sunglasses off. I grabbed an apple and a coffee before sitting next to Dick. Nixon raised an eyebrow at the sunglasses still sitting on my nose despite us being inside. I could see him trying to ignore it but his persistent nature wouldn't let him.

"Okay I can't take it anymore, someone give you a black eye or something?" He asked eventually, looking up from his porridge.

"Nope, I'm just tired and have really bad bags under my eyes." I answered honestly as I finished off my apple. Nixon looked at my suspiciously but then dropped it when Dick shot him a meaningful look.

"So we have weapons training today?" Dick asked curiously. I nodded in confirmation while taking a sip of the sludge-like coffee.

"Yep, my standards are pretty high so your boys better impress me or I'll have them at the rifle ranges everyday till jump training starts." I said truthfully.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 _Fort Benning, Georgia_

 _December 1942_

"I want each man to be able to hit 2 stationary targets and 3 moving targets because the Germans sure won't stay still long enough for you to put a bullet between their eyes." I said as I walked up and down the line of men with their standard issue M1 rifle. Some of the men gawked in surprise. Clearly they haven't practiced with moving targets before.

"Moving targets is easy enough when you can predict their movements. For example, if a man is running and you can see the speed he is travelling at and the direction of where he's aiming to go, aim for where he is going to be in the few seconds it takes for the bullet to be released and flying through the air to the target. Distance is also important and I'll discuss more about that after you have had a few turns on the easy moving targets," I explained, a few of the men nodded in understanding and almost all of them were grinning in anticipation.

"I'll show you before I give you a go at them, we've put the wooden targets on tracks similar to rail way tracks to keep them moving." I finished before grabbing a standard M1 without my usual scope attached. I yelled at the operator for live firing to commence and he started clearing any men sorting the targets out. Two moving targets came into view, moving at a steady pace and I quickly let off two shots after looking down the M1's average sights. Another target came into view at a much faster pace and it took me a few seconds longer to get used to the new speed before letting off another shot, right where the heart should be. I turned around and signalled for the operator to stop the moving targets and I saw Easy company looking very impressed.

"Okay now its your turn." I said simply before Sobel was picking the first lot of men to try out the moving targets. I saw from the corner of my eye Nixon swigging a mouthful of liquid from his canteen that was certainly not water. I walked to stand next to Nixon and took the canteen out of his hand without a word and took a swig myself.

"Vat 69, not bad Lew but it's probably best to drink it after handling live ammunition." I said with a cheeky grin as I handed him the canteen back. Nixon looked shocked and surprised for a second before his usual mischievous smirk appeared on his face.

"Can't get anything past you Ana." He said in response before being called by Sobel to be in the second group. I watched as the men fired at the moving targets, some of them actually hitting the target in what would have been a fatal shot on a real man. Of course Sobel put Winters in the first group, in an effort to show him up in what I can only imagine to be jealousy for earning the respect of the men while Sobel hadn't.

"That's very good Lieutenant Winters." I complimented him in front of Sobel on purpose. Winters nodded in thanks as he glanced at Sobel's sneering face. I winked at Nixon when Sobel wasn't looking, he knew what I was doing and gave me a thumbs up and a grin in amusement. There was quite a good number of the men that hit their target requirements. Guarnere, Toye, Talbert and Joe were naturally good at hitting their targets whereas I had to coach Malarkey, George and Muck a little bit to help them. When it came to the 6th group of men, a quiet dark haired man that looked as young as me stepped up to the firing line and managed to hit all his targets with very accurate precision and probably the quickest too.

"Private Powers that was really good! Where did you learn to shoot like that?" I asked, just barely remembering his name from Easy's files. He scratched his head with a cute small blush gracing his cheeks.

"umm... my pa taught me, we used to go hunting a lot in Virginia." He explained with his southern accent prominent.

"Ah that explains it, my father used to take me hunting in Siberia, we literally used to hike miles in the snow before finding any deer," I responded in understanding.

"What kind of rifle did you use?" I asked curiously, he then began to tell me his fathers collection of rifles that he had the pick of and before long it was lunch time and I bid my new friend farewell. Seeing his shots up close, I realised that he is as good as a few of the men from my special ops group.

 _Fort Benning, Georgia_

 _January 1943_

Before I even realised it, it was January and now time for jump training which I considered to be a useful skill to learn. I learnt since I was little that heights are dangerous, especially since I nearly fell off a mountain when I slipped on some ice. But since then I've grown to appreciate them because of the men of easy that seemed to enjoy heights enough to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with only a parachute to bring them safely back to the ground. The excitement the men seem to exhibit, days before the first of five jumps out of a C17 aircraft is contagious. We were all sitting down on the ground, being told to remember our training on the day of our first jump by Fort Benning's jump instructor and I couldn't help but look at the aircraft we would be jumping out of with doubt. I felt a nudge from my right and I turn my head to catch Bill and Joes eyes that contain concern aimed at me. When the instructor stopped talking an walked away to prepare the aircrafts for take off, I turned back to face Bill and Joe.

"What?" I asked about the nudge earlier.

"You alright? You looked a bit.. err.. uneasy?" Bill asked hesitantly while Joe nodded along curiously.

"I think my self-preservation is kicking in, are you guys not at least a bit hesitant about jumping out of a perfectly good airplane with only a parachute that can save us from breaking every bone in our body?" I asked them sceptically.

"Well yeah but I'm also excited, I've never been on a plane before, it's like an adventure!" Joe answered with a glint in his eye that made his face light up in a very handsome way.

"I've been on a plane once before, we lost one of the engines and had to make an emergency crash landing so excuse me for having some doubts." I explained with a frown, I then saw both their faces drop in shock.

"Aww shit, I didn't mean to... I mean that was a one off I'm sure we will be fine, loads of armies have paratroopers so it must be a successful idea." I attempted to repair their sudden doubts on the safety of not only jumping out of a aircraft but also the aircrafts safety too.

We were soon called out to our respective aircrafts, Joe was behind me in the C17. When the engines started, I winced in surprise. I nearly jumped when a hand rested on my thigh and I turned to see Joe's reassuring face give me a smile, I felt a lot better after that. The rest of the men seemed to be lost in thought so they didn't notice the inappropriate behaviour between us. When the red light came on I almost jumped up immediately but restrained myself and presented my hook like the rest of the men. In the time it took for us to leave the tarmac and climb up to the required height to jump, I had decided that I would rather be dropping to the ground under a deployed parachute than to spend more time in this noisy airplane. When the call came to check the person in fronts equipment, I had Malarkey to check while Joe checked my equipment. I don't think Malarkey minded my hands on him as he turned his head to the right to send me a cheeky grin. Joes steady hands on me gave me extra assurance that we'll be fine. After calling out our numbers we began to move up towards the door. Dick was first to jump in our plane and he did it without any hesitation, I gained even more respect for the quiet, moral officer. When I got to the door, I felt Joe give my hand a quick, discreet squeeze before I jumped. The feeling of floating through the air is amazing and exhilarating. I looked up to see Joe not to far away on my right and I laughed at the feeling of flying. When I approached the ground I raised my legs and fell on my bum like I was taught. I quickly untangled myself from my chute and collected it quickly, I jogged over to where Joe just landed and I laughed at the child like feature of wonder that was clear on his face as I'm sure it was on mine too. I gave him a hand to help him up and words were not needed to explain the experience we just had.

"When can we do that again?" Was all I said when we regrouped with the others at our assembly point.

-Line Break-

Over the next few days we completed all 5 jumps required to become a paratrooper. In a special ceremony, the silver jump wings were pinned on each of our Class-A uniforms by Colonel Sink. The U.S army provided me with their smallest size Class-A's with the difference of a skirt being given to me rather than the men's trousers. I opened the door of the pub that easy was using as their celebration party and I was surprised with all the men and how well they cleaned up in their smart Class-A's. I was about to head over to see Dick and Nixon who were standing off to the side, no sign of Sobel in sight, when the sound of my name was carried over the pub and I looked up to see George behind the bar of the pub with the usual cigarette hanging from his mouth and a cheeky grin on his flushed face. I smiled at the man that could make me laugh even when I'm in the worst mood. The rest of the men greeted me with a smile and pat on the shoulder as I made my way to the bar to greet George and a nearby Joe Toye who looked like he was drinking the bar dry.

"Hello Gorgeous!" George greeted me, looking at me up and down with a goofy grin. I took a seat next to Joe Toye and I congratulated him on his promotion to corporal, he seemed nearly out of it already and it was still early. I felt a presence next to me, while waiting for George, who went off to serve some other soldier.

"Hello Beautiful!" was said on my right and I turned round to look into Bill's dark eyes.

"Hello Sergeant Gonorrhoea!" I greeted back cheekily, acknowledging his new rank and the nickname that he seems to be proud of somehow.

"Wanna play a drinking game?" He asked me excitedly while nodding back to the table of men that were waiting in anticipation for the showdown of Bill Vs me.

"Sure, 2 pints of beer Georgie please!" I answered back before getting Georges attention, who was struggling to keep up with all the orders the boys were putting in. He nodded quickly and poured us two pints, Bill carried them back to the table he was occupying with Muck, Christianson and a few other lads. As we walked past I heard Perconte playing around with newly promoted Sergeant Martin.

"Congrats on the promotion Sergeant Martin." I added in as I walked past and he nodded his head in thanks. I haven't really bonded as well with Martin, Bull or the other Sergeants yet but I'm sure I'll have time to before we go into combat.

"So what drinking game are we playing?" I asked as I sat down on a unoccupied wooden seat, across the table from Bill.

"We are playing the thousandth game, we put our jump wings at the bottom of our pint and we drink the pint to get to them. First one to finish their pint and have the jump wings in our mouths is the winner." Bill explained happily. I nodded in understanding and took off my pinned jump wings from my jacket, I plopped the jump wings in my glass where it floated to the bottom of the glass and Bill did the same for himself.

"Okay, 3,2,1, Go!" Muck counted from next to me with a smoke between his fingers. I quickly pick up my pint and start to chug the bitter liquid. I could hear the rest of the men count the seconds it took, when I heard Bills shout of victory at the 9th second. I finished a second later and I couldn't help but laugh around the jump wings in my mouth at Bills joyful face. He let out a deep chuckle at my pouting before I gave him a huge smile.

"Well done Bill, remind me not to enter a drinking competition with you ever again." I exclaimed jokingly as wiped my jump wings down before pinning them back on my uniform.

"Aww don't be a sore loser doll." He answered back with a cheeky smile as he lit a cigarette and took a puff before handing it over to my waiting hand. I took a couple of puffs before handing it back to him.

"We'll have a rematch in the future with my choice of drink next time." I promised as I got up from the table. I bid them goodbye as I made my way back to the bar to see how Toye and George are doing.

"Lost sweetcheeks?" George asked with a knowing grin. Toye still seemed out of it but managed to lift his head in curiosity.

"Yeah, clearly I underestimated him." I grumbled back at him as I sat in the same bar stool previously. Toye slouched over again with a muffled chuckle and I shot him a Speirs special glare.

"Corporal Toye, there will be no leaning in my company," George started with the Sobel impressions, in an effort to uplift my mood.

"Are those dusty jump wings? How do you expect to slay the huns with dust on your jump wings?!" George continued his Sobel rant with frightening accuracy.

"Just get me a drink Luz." Toye said in his husky voice while pulling on George's shirt collar. George just gave a cheeky smile that I adored and served him a pint with a 'there ya go'.

I rolled my eyes at the amount of alcohol Toye has already consumed and was about to commend George on his impression when the shout of 'ten-hut' was shouted across the room. We all immediately jumped to attention, Joe Toye a bit wobbly but used the bar to help him stand straight up. I managed to make my way closer to Colonel Sink who stood on a stage with Major Strayer and Major Horton standing to the side.

"Good evening Easy company!" Colonel Sink greeted us warmly

"Good evening Sir!" We all replied in unison, I turned my head slightly to the left and found Joe standing next to me, his glinting eyes focused on my face, I hadn't seen him tonight till now. His hair was darker than usual as it was slicked back with hair gel, his class-A's made him look especially handsome and he knew it, judging from the smirk playing on his lips.

"Now I want you to know that I'm damn proud of each and every one of you," The colonel started to say. Sergeant Grant handed Colonel Sink a pint of beer recently poured by George when he took a pause in his speech.

"You deserve this party, now I want you to have fun and remember our motto: Currahee!" He finished with a big smile on his face and he raised his glass in celebration. We all repeated the motto that I heard was the name of the mountain at Camp Toccoa they were forced to run up and down. Colonel Sink left after and the men all broke out into conversation again. I turn to Joe and take a hold of his jacket and pull him towards me. His eyes are full of surprise, I only give him a smirk in response.

"Your tie isn't straight." I explained to him as my fingers pull his tie out a little bit to fix the mess he's made of it. He's now standing directly in front of me, very closely. His tall height drawfs my meager 5ft 5in and it creates a shadow where the rest of the pub was blocked out, it felt like it was just us here alone. I finish working on his now straight tie and I let my hands drop from his body after I straightened out his uniform.

"Thanks, if you want to put your hands on me in the future you don't even need to ask Ana." Joe responded in a deep rumbling voice that was barely above a whisper. Our faces seem to have gotten closer unconsciously. I bring my head up so that my mouth is directly in front of Joes ear.

"Good." I whisper sensually, as I go to pull away my lips brush the lobe of his ear briefly and I could have sworn I heard him groan quietly. I pull away so that we are now at a respectful distance and I send him a cheeky wink before I make my way over to see my favourite Lieutenants, Dick and Lew. Bill, who is still sitting at the same table I left him at, shoots a knowing smirk at me as I walk past but I just ignore it. I knew I shouldn't have flirted with Joe but I couldn't help it because as much as this sounds like a little child, he started it first!

"Hello, Lew, Dick." I greeted them a smile. Lew jumped when he heard my voice next to him while Dick knew I was there all along, judging by the rare smirk that's gracing his face.

"Jesus Christ, wanna try making some noise next time Ana?" Nix said clutching his flask which was no doubt filled with vat 69 in one hand and his other rested over his heart.

"Sorry, You might wanna work on your jumpiness before we get into combat." I suggested with a smirk.

"Actually Ana apparently Sink is pushing to move Nix up to battalion as an intelligence officer." Dick said teasingly. I raised my eyebrows but I wasn't actually surprised at the news, Lew didn't seem like the combat type and I'm sure he would do much more good looking out for Easy at headquarters.

"Oh really? We're all doomed then." I said jokingly as Lew gave me a gentle push in response. Dick let out a deep chuckle at our playful banter.

"Really though, I don't think there is a better man for the job than you." I said seriously after mine and Dick's laughter died down. Lew just put his arm around my shoulder and pull me to his chest in a bear hug. We stood around chatting a bit more till Lew's eyes lit up as if a brilliant idea just entered his mind.

"C'mon Ana lets dance." Lew said in excitement as he started to drag me to a bigger space. I looked back at Dick as if to say 'how much has he had to drink?' Dick tried to hide his amusement behind his glass of water but I still saw it and I shot a quick glare his way before I lot sight of him through the crowd of men. A upbeat tune was put on, curtesy of George who looked very amused. Nix pulled me into his arms and swirled me around the makeshift dance floor. The men got out of the way and proceed to watch with interest, they soon began clapping to the beat of the tune and Nixon soon handed me off to Ron.

"Gate-crashing our celebration party?" I asked him smirking.

"Well it's not every day my sister gets her jump wings." He said in response and he twirled me around, just like he used to when we were children. I soon had a turn with Bill, Malarkey and Dick (with a bit of coaxing from me and Lew). I was grateful later on when I had the chance to leave, I crashed on top of my small cot as soon as I walked into my hut, kicking off my painful high heels in the process.

 _June 1943_

It's not until June when we start real life field manoeuvres with the company. Up until now we have been keeping up our physical fitness as well as me carrying out my lessons to the company and I am very proud of how well they pick up on what I'm teaching them. The officers have been receiving special classes also on map-reading and battle techniques. Unfortunately I don't think a certain officer is either paying attention or he must be truly ignorant to what is going on around him.

 _Camp Mackall, North Carolina_

 _23_ _rd_ _June 1943_

It was a hot day in North Carolina. We had arrived a week ago in anticipation of creating real life battle scenarios. This is as much of a test for the officers and their judgment as it is for the soldiers.

"Right, Captain Belikova I want you to take first platoon and set up a defensive position to the west while Captain Sobel, you will take second platoon with Lieutenant Winters and attempt to kill or capture first platoon, that understood?" Colonel Sink briefed them in front of a map of the wooded area that is part of Camp Mackall. We all replied with a 'Yes, Sir' before being dismissed to lead our platoons. I walked past Bill, Toye, Malarkey and Joe and they certainly did not look happy about Sobel leading them, I gave them a cocky smirk while their frowns just deepened in frustration.

The exercise started an hour ago and still there was no sign of Captain Sobel and second platoon. I even sent a few scouts ahead to see if they were coming closer but still nothing yet. They are certainly not in the right position as I had that scouted ages ago. It was coming up to midday and in this heat while wearing our full gear, it was starting to become unbearable. I had just taken one of the last sips of my water from my canteen when Talbert and Perconte came running back from a scouting mission.

"Captain Belikova, we've spotted them about half a mile that way in a defensive position using a crevasse in the ground as cover." Talbert informed me, panting lightly. I pulled out my map to get an accurate reading on there position and I put my finger on it in confusion.

"What the fuck are they doing there?" I whispered to Talbert in confusion with a frown. Talbert just shrugged in bewilderment too.

"Dunno but I got close enough to see that Sobel looked to be getting antsy, these tree covers are amazing." Talbert replied while fixing the leaves attached to his helmet.

"That means he's gonna make a move soon, either him of Winters will see that they are in the wrong position and knowing Sobel he'll want to move into the correct position especially with Major Strayer watching this exercise closely." I said knowingly. Talbert nodded in understanding before leaving to rearrange his unit's position. It wasn't much longer when I got the call that movement was spotted a hundred yards away. I quickly arranged my platoon to get in cover, the camouflage of the leaves already in place around their bodies and on their helmets. They were within 10 feet of us when I gave the signal to rise up and ambush them. All of second platoon and Sobel froze in shock. Major Strayer soon made his appearance and looked very displeased at Sobel's literal walk into an ambush that got 95% of his platoon killed. Toye and Bill looked furious at Sobel but all Sobel did was curse under his breath before he marched away.

-Line Break-

"Ahh what are you gonna do?" Nixon asked in response to Winters telling the story of how Sobel majorly fucked up a manoeuvre. He just turned around again and continued to pack up his belongings, not that surprised at Sobel's incompetence. I lay reclined on Lew's bed in my Class-A's, making his job of packing up even harder for him as I purposely hid a t-shirt or two underneath my back. Nixon hasn't decided to dump me off his bed yet so I'm not sure that he has noticed.

"Nothing, just keep training the men." Dick replied calmly as he sat on a wooden chair near the door. We were all wearing our Class-A's as we were promised some leave when we reached our next destination and unfortunately in public we were ordered to wear our Class-A's since we are representing the army. This wouldn't be a problem normally despite them being quite stiff and uncomfortable but adding in this unbearable heat makes me a very unhappy girl.

I lift my head up when I hear a different pair of shoes enter the hut and Dick an Lew immediately go quiet in response.

"Am I interrupting?" The short man asked awkwardly as we continued to stare at him for a second longer than necessary.

"Nope!" I said immediately, answering for all of us without hesitation. I popped the 'p', something that my brother hates with a passion.

"No, No, Lieutenant Lewis Nixon, Captain Belikova, this is Lieutenant Harry Welsh. Just in from the 82nd." Winters introduced us. Welsh shook Lew's hand and I raised my torso up from the bed and swung by legs round onto the floor so I was now in a sitting position. Welsh was about to salute me when I waved him off with my hand.

"Ah don't do that, it's too early for salutes" I added while catching Nixon rolling his eyes at the response he knew too well from me. Instead I shook Lieutenant Welsh's hand in a friendly greeting.

"Yeah god forbid she gets a salute before 10am," Lew said sarcastically and Dick and Welsh both let out a chuckle. Lew turned round and spotted the now crumpled t-shirts that I was hoarding secretly.

"Ana! Why'd you do that? Evil woman." Lew exclaimed in outrage, he picked up one of the t-shirts and attempted to pat down the wrinkles but It wasn't working very well. Lew gave in to defeat a few seconds later but not before he sent me one last glare as he realised that he would have to iron them all again. Dick was trying to muffle a laugh at our antics and Welsh just smiled.

"Congratulations on the promotion." Welsh said genuinely before turning around to face Winters. I can't believe after waiting all this time, Lew has finally got the recognition he deserved and is unfortunately leaving easy for battalion headquarters.

"Aw thanks, If ya want to call it that," Nixon said in response, half wanting to stay with easy and half wanting to move up to battalion.

"You'll learn him pretty quickly: no flaws, no vices, no sense of humour." Lew continued to talk to harry as he gave Dick a smirk. Harry let out a small chuff, still with that contagious smile on his face.

"Just like your chums up at battalion staff?" Dick retorted with a raised eyebrow. Nixon chuffed before turning to me with a wicked grin on his face.

"This little princess is a bit more of a challenge, she's unpredictable and her bite is definitely worse than her bark." Nixon added with a smirk.

"Aw I'll miss you too Lew." I retorted with a smile, I knew he couldn't resist staying angry at me for long. Winters interrupted us by asking Harry 'What's up?' as if he could read Harry's uneasy mind.

"I've been hearing a lot of rumblings." Harry declared uneasily. Dick continued to play with his garrison hat uncomfortably.

"Sobel? We were just talking about that." Nixon replied, locking eyes with Dick. I stood up from the bed and moved to stand between Lew and Dicks shoulder in a unintentional huddle like naughty school children planning something big that would undoubtably get us in trouble.

"So he gets a little jumpy in the field." Harry stated while locking eyes with us all, clearly uneasy under Sobel's leadership.

"Yeah he gets jumpy and then you get killed." Nixon responded bluntly. I rolled my eyes at Lew's lack of tact before Harry scoffed and let out a quiet 'that's nice' as if Nixon just gave him a compliment.

"I wouldn't worry about it if I was you." I said vaguely as I lit a cigarette, completely at ease with the mutiny of leadership going on in the wooden hut. Lew and Harry sent me a confused look before Dick butted in to steer the conversation out of punishable offences.

"Ya well listen, if we discuss it I think It should just be amongst ourselves." Dick, the moral compass seriously added. We just heard Harry agree before another pair of jump boots made a noise when they jumped up onto the wooden entryway of the hut. We all immediately turn around and see the figure that I definitely did not want to see today. Dick, Lew and Harry snapped to attention while I continued to take a drag of my cigarette, unfazed. He snapped a salute at me when he locked eyes with me, one which I returned reluctantly.

"Second Platoon ready?" He addressed Winters, with clear distain towards the young red head evident.

"Ready, Sir." Dick responded without hesitation as he continued to look ahead, still at attention.

"Then get them in formation, we're moving out." He ordered with a nudge of his head to the outside of the door, his sign of a dismissal. Harry and Dick soon brushed past Sobel's shoulders, which then unfortunately left me and Lew with him. He continued to stare at us a few seconds longer before he left the threshold while taking a obnoxious bite out of his apple. Lewis threw me a funny face and I burst into laughter, pretty sure that Sobel was still in earshot. Oh well.

-Line Break-

We all assembled at a train station, unloading our bags from the troop trucks to the trains luggage compartment. Everyone's in good spirits with the promise of some leave coming up. I could see George laughing and joking around with Muck and Malarkey while Martin is chatting up a storm with Joe. I just smiled at the carefree looks they had, but I knew It wouldn't last for long. We were moving out of America for good this time and It didn't take a genius to know where we would be going. Europe is the only plausible explanation since paratroopers are hardly needed in the pacific since they were more likely to get killed by hanging themselves in a tree on a tiny island than actually being killed by Japanese soldiers.

I could see a small group being formed on the ground near some trucks and I inched closer to see what they all looked so serious about. Toye was sitting on his luggage while Popeye, Cobb and shifty were sitting down, resting.

"You gotta admit he's got no chance," Cobb started seriously, locking eyes with each man.

"Either the Krauts will get him or one of us." He finished while fidgeting with his fingers. Joe overheard from near by and decided to crouch down and join in the conversation. Since the incident with Cobb when we first met, he's has accepted me in his own way, I could tell he respects my abilities but I'm sure that he still doesn't like me but I'm fine with that because I'm not to keen on him either if I'm being honest.

"Who? Sobel?" He asked knowingly, with the most serious expression I've ever seen on his face. The rest of the men nodded in confirmation while Joe started to nod in understanding of the men's reluctance.

"He screwed up one manoeuvre." Shifty defended him in his soft southern accent. I decided that I would intervene and they to ease the uneasy soldiers minds.

"Yeah but if he made that mistake in real combat, we would all be dead shifty." I interjected as I crouched down and joined the small group. The men jumped a little in surprise at seeing me there and a little concerned since they could get in trouble for discussing this. I just waved their concerns off with a hand.

"Aw you know I'm always fumbling with grenades, It would be easy if one went off my accident ya know?" Joe said suggestively with a smirk aimed at me. Shifty uneasily looked away at Joe's suggestion.

"Now they must have put him in charge for a reason." Shifty still defended him as he was obligated to do.

"Yeah cos the army wouldn't make a mistake right shifty?" Joe retorted sarcastically while shaking his head in disbelief that shifty was saying those things.

"Don't worry about Sobel, I'll take care of him before we even reach combat," I said seriously, locking eyes with each of the men to get across what I meant. Lipton walked past and heard the end of our conversation but I knew he wouldn't tell anyone about our mutinous talk.

"I don't want any of you to talk about it anymore, In case the wrong ears hear next time." I added before getting up and walking towards the train, with the intent of placing my luggage in the holder. It was gonna be a long train trip, was all I thought as I sat down next to a sleeping George who started to snore.

 **There you go! a long chapter 5! Next week I am going on holiday for 2 weeks so I won't be able to update this story until I get back. Please let me know how you are liking the story so far!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 _Brooklyn Naval Shipyard_

 _6_ _th_ _September 1943_

We never did get the promised leave passes. Instead we were stationed in a complex in New York before we had orders to pack up once again and load onto a troop ship where a certain intelligence officer dropped the ball of where we are to be headed: England. We were all given injections before entering the ship, I heard Toye and Guarnere curse loudly when theirs were given. I soon found this ship to be even more unbearable than the one I came over to America on. The amount of soldiers being crammed onto this ship amazed me and I am pretty confident that the ship was not built to accommodate this many occupants. When it was time to set sail I came up on the top deck with the rest of the men, cramming between George and Talbert to see us go past the statue of liberty. The men looked at it in silence as they took one last look at their homeland. We all soon left the top deck to get to our quarters below. When I say quarters, I mean a small room that was originally designed to fit one or two people but really the army managed to assign 4 people to the room and luckily for me, it did not include Sobel but rather my favourite Lieutenants: Nixon, Winters and Welsh. The men were not so lucky to get a small room with 4 people, they had bunks set up, with two men to a bunk, the bunks were up to six storeys high which meant other men had to use your bunk to help climb up to the higher beds.

"Well, how did I get so lucky to share my room with you guys?" I asked teasingly as I walked through the doorway of my small quarters with my bag of belongings slung over my shoulder. Lew and Harry turned around in surprise.

"Obviously you won the lottery to be sharing with us handsome men," Nixon replied with a cheeky smile on his face, Harry chuckled at our banter in amusement.

"I thought you were getting your own quarters though?" Nixon continued, a bit confused. I shrugged in uncertainty.

"Dunno, but I don't care either way, where's Dick?" I asked, not seeing the redhead in the room.

"Probably playing mother hen, making sure the boys are settled." Nixon explained with a roll of his eyes, to show his feelings on Dick's adopted mothering role. I don't mind Dick mothering the boys a bit but sooner or later they were gonna have to realise that Dick isn't going to always be there to help them. It's okay to rely on your officers but the boys need to have some independence too.

Dick soon came back and settled into his bunk to read a book. I decided to rest on my bunk and try to get some sleep since there was not much to do on this rust bucket. A loud knock was heard not much later on our door, Harry huffed a sigh before getting up to get it. Malarkey's stark red hair appeared on the other side of the doorway and I frowned in confusion. He was out of breath but tried to compose himself in front of his officers.

"Sorry to bother you Sir, I was wondering if I could borrow Captain Belikova." Malarkey asked Welsh, a little bit frantic but tried to stay calm. My frown deepened as I slowly rose up from my bunk.

"You better only be 'borrowing' her, she's the prettiest thing on this god damn ship and we need her to keep us sane." Nixon said from his bunk. I looked over to see him lying on his back with both hands underneath his head and his eyes remained closed as he spoke.

"Yes Sir, I'll return her in one piece." Malarkey replied hurriedly. I walked out into the hallway and shut the cabin door behind me. Because the ship was so hot due to all the people on board, I decided to unbutton a few buttons on my over shirt so that part of my white under shirt was showing. My dog tags were dangling too on the outside of my shirts, making a key jangling sound at my every movement.

"What's going on then Malark?" I asked as he power walked as fast as he could, when he wasn't dodging crowds of soldiers loitering in the hallway, or really any space they could fit.

"Joe and Bill are fighting." Malarkey explained hurriedly as he tried to get through a bigger crowd of soldiers. I rolled my eyes in frustration as I tried to squeeze through more and more men. Suddenly I felt a hand rest on my bum, I growled before turning around to see a young cocky soldier leering at me. I pulled my large knife from my waist sheath and I twisted his arm behind his back as I squashed his face into a metal bunk painfully.

"If you ever touch me again, I will cut off your fingers one by one." I threatened as I hovered my knife over his fingers to prove a point. Malarkey had only now noticed that I wasn't following him, and he turned back around to view the scene I was creating.

"And then I will court marshal you, kicking you out of the Airborne and into the regular army." I added in a low voice, I could feel the man frantically nod his head in pain as I twisted his arm more to prove a point before I let him go.

"Let's go Malark, I need to break up this fight so I can get some sleep." I announced moodily as I brush past him, Malark was just standing there with his mouth open in shock before he snapped out of it and continued to follow me.

When I got to the Easy company area which was in the middle of the ship, I stormed up to the crowd surrounding what I assumed to be Joe and Bill. I could tell a few of them were trying to break it up but some were watching in amusement. Others were just laying on their bunks, not caring about the commotion down the hull. I stormed through the crowd, brushing through the men until I got to Bill and Joe, who were looking a lot worse for wear. Joe's nose was bleeding and I bet a few bruises would appear on his face later on too. Bill had a cut above his eyebrow and another cut near his hairline. I grabbed Joe's collar and pulled him with all my strength through the crowd, he put up a bit of fight but then gave up when he saw it was me pulling him off Bill.

"Malarkey get Doc Roe to fix up Guarnere, I'm taking Liebgott to the infirmary." I ordered in a no-nonsense voice as I let go of Joe's collar and gestured for him to go the opposite way from Bill, towards the infirmary. When we eventually got to the infirmary, there were a few soldiers loitering about, finding any space to themselves on the overcrowded vessel.

"If you're not dying, get out!" I announced to the room. They all slowly file out of the room, that seemed to be the only decent sized room on the whole ship. I gestured for Joe to sit on the medical bed before I moved over to the cabinets, searching for the necessary supplies to fix him up.

"Wanting to get me alone Ana?" Joe flirted, I turned my head round from the cabinets and gave him a look before he starts coughing suddenly, spurting some blood from his nose over his clothes. I rolled my eyes, giving him no sympathy.

"Not particularly, what I want is to know what that fight was about?" I answered as I found the splint for his nose and some cotton wool and disinfectant. I turned round from the cupboard and walked back over to Joe while placing the items on the table next to him. I watched his eyes darken in anger as he thinks about the fight.

"Doesn't matter." He replied, trying to brush off my question. I tried to make eye contact with him but he refused to meet my eyes and instead found a piece of the wall to gaze at. I rolled my eyes at his evasion before soaking the cotton wool in disinfectant and shoving it at Joe's nose in frustration.

"Fucking hell! That stings!" Joe shouted , part in surprise and part in pain. I smirked involuntarily as he whined like a little kid.

"Are you enjoying my pain?" He asked as he peers at me through narrow slits, noting the smirk on my face.

"No, of course not." I replied defensively. I attempted to come closer with the cotton wool but he flinches, edging away from me.

"Do you even know any medic shit?" Joe asked me just as Doc Roe comes through the door with his medic kit hanging from his shoulder.

"Ah Doc, I started without you." I said to the Cajun healer while he lets out a rare small smile for me.

"Captain Belikova, I thought you told me you've never attempted to fix someone up, I see you've got all the correct equipment out though." Eugene Roe replied formally. I snuck a peek at Joe and was rewarded with a frown from said grumpy man.

"I knew you were enjoying my pain!" Joe exclaimed loudly with a scowl.

"I wasn't, I was playing nurse to you." I replied as innocently as I could as I fluttered my eyelashes at him. Joe's scowl soon turns into a wide smirk as soon as he hears that but Doc Roe soon snaps us out of our strong flirting game with an awkward cough as he moves to stem the bleeding of Joe's nose.

"Want to tell me now what that fight was about?" I asked as Doc finishes setting his nose after curses were being thrown left and right from the dark haired soldier. Joe's smirk vanishes as quickly as it did the first time I asked. Doc Roe senses the tension and begins to tell Joe that he'll check up on him later, to make sure his nose is healing right before he leaves the room in a hurry.

"Guarnere was shooting his mouth off," Joe started to talk after Roe shut the door. I nodded encouragingly for him to continue.

"He used a slur I don't like, alright?" Joe finished, getting angry again just thinking about it. I took a step closer to him, so that I'm only a foot away from him. My big emerald eyes are locked with his whiskey eyes intently so that I could read every thought and emotion that flickered through his mind, unfortunately he could also see mine too.

"What was it?" I asked quietly as I hold the eye contact.

"Son of Abraham." He answered reluctantly, breaking eye contact with me and deciding to stare at the ground instead.

"Was it aimed at you?" I asked unamused with the slur that I knew all too well from my childhood.

"No, Sobel actually." Joe replied, realising the fight wasn't necessary at all. I nodded thoughtfully at the new information.

"Just let that shit roll off your shoulders Joe." I said to him, unconsciously reaching up to touch my star of David underneath my white undershirt.

"I can't, you don't know what it's like having slurs like that thrown at you your entire life and being expected to do nothing about it!" He started shouting towards the end of his rant. I rolled my eyes unamused with him yelling in my face and telling me that I don't know what it's like.

"Yes I do! I had what you had plus more shit because my parents divorced!" I started to shout back while retrieving my star of David from my undershirt and showing him that we're not so different. Joe seemed taken aback, whether it's because of my shouting or the new information I just revealed.

"You're..." Joe started to say, trailing off surprised. I nodded in confirmation as he digested the news.

"But Lieutenant Speirs isn't..." Joe started to say but trailed off again. I shook my head in response.

"No, my mothers side is the Jewish side so I suppose I'm half Jewish- ethnically speaking," I explained with a shrug.

"My childhood highlights were seeing my brother and father occasionally before I realised that he's no good, It's not just America who has issues with us. When the Germans invaded Russia, the SS rounded up all the Jewish people and put them on trains, as far as I know no one has seen any of them come back." I began to explain further.

"Really? I wonder where they took them all." Joe said thoughtfully. I did hear some malicious rumours that I hope not to be true from some old women back in Russia. I tried not to think about it too much now as I realise that I have to concentrate on winning the war so that they can come home.

"I don't know but the point I'm trying to make is that to change how the world thinks of you, you have to change how you think of them too. I want you and Bill to apologise to each other, we need to be united as an efficient company when we get into combat and to do that we have to not hold onto things said and done." I declared, trying to make Joe see some sense. He remained quiet for a minute before opening his mouth to speak.

"When did you get so wise?" He asked rhetorically with the familiar smirk on his face. I smiled at his teasing attitude.

"About the same time you were still learning how to read." I retorted joyfully with a smile.

"Well now that I know you're Jewish, my ma will love it if you became her daughter in law, and of course marry the handsomest of the Liebgott clan." Joe exclaimed proudly with a wide smile. I can't help but giggle at his attempts of flirting with me. Joe sure seemed to be a real womanizer, but it's funny that I haven't ever seen him with any women when we had our weekend passes intact and we all decided to visit the bars.

"Sure you don't just want one good time?" I asked lightly with my smile intact.

"No I respect you too much for that Ana." He replied seriously, his features trying to project to me his truthfulness.

"That's good to know," I added, with no doubt my smile much bigger after his comment about respecting me, which is all I ever want in a man since I believe my father never treated my mother as she should have been.

"Let's go join the boys shall we?" I asked as he hops off the medical table, all patched up now. Joe nods and follows behind me out of the infirmary and back into the crowd of men. I didn't say anything but I did notice from the corner of my eye Joe glaring at any man who got near to me. Although I'm sure that won't be a problem any longer since the display with the man earlier, being thought off as someone not to mess with is invaluable even with my officer status. When we got to easy company, right in the middle of the ship, I got hello's from a lot of the guys and Luz was trying to coax me to play cards with him and a few others but I wave him off for now. I lead Joe over to where Bill is laying on his bunk, when he sees us approach he jumps up from the bunk.

"I want you both to apologise to each other and for gods sake, the next person who wakes me from my sleep will find a grenade in their bunk alright?" I exclaimed, talking loudly enough for nearly everyone in easy company reach to hear. Both men mumble out an apology to each other before going their separate ways, to their bunks. I sighed in relief with getting that out the way before walking over to Luz and his makeshift table aka. A empty bunk, covered in cards.

"Wanna play a game doll?" George asked, noticing me leaning over to watch the game.

"How much is the bet up to on where we are headed?" I asked as I plop myself down next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder in exhaustion.

"I have about $800 worth of bets at the moment, why?" He replied absentmindedly as he checked his new set of cards.

"I'm placing $100 on Europe, or more specifically England, sometimes it pays to be friends with the intelligence officer," I replied sleepily. I felt George pause in shuffling the deck of cards and I lifted my head off his shoulder to see his face clearer, he looked almost giddy with excitement.

"England?" He asked questioningly.

"England." I confirmed before moving to rest my head on his shoulder again, slowly dozing off even with the chatter from the other men around me.

 **-Line Break-**

 _Aldbourne, England_

 _October 1943_

We had been in England roughly a month now and the men still cannot stop complaining about the weather here. The showers of rain and lack of sunshine brought some of the excitement down but as soon as the guys saw the women, their tune seemed to have changed quickly. We found ourselves in a 'pub', as the English call them, a lot of the time. Sobel released his tight reins on the company some when we arrived, passes being revoked were becoming more rare than usual.

"How much have you had to drink Georgie?" I asked the dark haired soldier who was leaning heavily on my right shoulder. We were all crammed into the local pub, some were up drinking by the bar and others were sitting down in groups like ours. I was on a sofa with Joe on my left, George on my right and Bill, Toye, Talbert, Malarkey and Muck on the chairs opposite, surrounding the long wooden table.

"Aw he just wants a cuddle from ya Ana." Talbert joked while taking a sip from his pint. Bill and Joe Toye let out a deep chuckle in response.

"Aww my poor Luzzy Wuzzy." I said in a voice that people like to speak to babies in. I put an arm round his shoulders to support him against me and I lightly brushed my hand through his soft dark hair that reminded me of my brothers.

"He's probably too drunk to realise how lucky he is right now." Muck commented with a cheeky smile and wink aimed at me. The rest of the men round the table nodded in agreement.

"No I'm not, Ana's soft and warm, highly recommend her as a pillow." George mumbled, barley comprehensible. The men managed to hear anyway and started laughing again.

"Really? Let me try 'The Ana Pillow'" Joe said from my left, I suddenly felt a weight on my left shoulder and looked down to see Joe snuggling into my neck while resting the side of his head on my shoulder. I rolled my eyes as the other men seemed to protest that they couldn't have 'a turn' as they seemed to put it. I huffed a sigh as I only just managed to reach my cigarettes that I left on the table with the added weight. Bill offered me a light that I gladly accepted, I sighed comfortably when I took my first puff of my cigarette and another sigh when I sip lightly on my pint of beer.

The Pub suddenly quietens and I looked up to see two familiar faces dressed in their full Russian dress uniform walk through the pub doors. I kept my eyes on them as I downed my pint steadily. When they reached my table they snap their heels and salute me with a greeting of 'Captain Belikova' in unison, I finished my pint a few seconds after and put the empty glass on the table before shrugging off both Joe and George from my shoulders and slowly standing up to return the salute.

 _"_ _Anyone would think you were German, what with your heel snapping and all."_ I said in Russian to Lieutenant Nikolai Alexandrov, my second in command and Sergeant Vladimir Botros. They both gave deep chuckles in response and I joyfully joined in before moving away from the crowded table to stand in front of them both, their tall statures dwarfing my meager size. I gave them both a kiss on each cheek, under the watchful eyes of everyone in the pub. I suppose Russian soldiers are not a common occurrence in England.

I turned back to the table and found everyone on the table watching us with curious eyes, even George who seemed more aware now. Joe's eyes however were dark and I couldn't read what he's thinking.

"This is Lieutenant Nikolai Alexandrov, my second in command from my old unit and Sergeant Vladimir Botros, also from my old unit," I introduced them while the other men shook their hands in greetings and giving them their own names in return.

"You wouldn't mind if we borrowed Ana would you?" Nikolai asked the easy men after they got all the greetings out the way.

"As long as you bring her back." Bill joked before taking a huge gulp from his pint. The men nodded in agreement except Joe who remained silent and continued to stare at the two men, particularly at Nikky for some reason. I walked over to a recently vacant table and Nikky followed me while Vladimir went towards the bar to get us some drinks.

Vladimir soon came back with 9 shots of vodka on a tray before we began to talk and catch up with what they have been doing in the last year of being apart.

"We lost Natalie at Stalingrad, few days after you left, German sniper got her," Nikolai informed me gravely. I shook my head sadly as I received the news. Natalie was older than me and a good soldier.

"She let her guard down, put her head right in the path of a sniper." My friend finished, looking aggravated. That was the reality of war, one mistake could kill you in a flash.

"Anymore causalities?" I asked mournfully, scared to hear the answer.

"No, I took some shrapnel to the bum though, not one of my finest moments." Nikolai replied with a cheeky smile, Vladimir let out a loud laugh as if he was reliving the hilarious scene. That broke me out of my quiet, sad mood as I began to laugh at the picture that was painted in my head of Nikolai doing something no doubt stupid before getting pelted in the bum.

"Would you like to see the scar?" Nikolai continued with a wide smile, breaking the solemn mood. I continued to laugh loudly while I shook my head rapidly, drawing attention from the whole pub onto our small table. We eventually calmed down enough to get around to taking our shots of vodka. We each held up one shot each, looking at each other seriously.

"To Natalie," Nikolai toasted before we repeated it and downed our first shot. It went down as smoothly as it always had. We each picked up the second shot.

"To Russia," Vladimir toasted before we repeated it and downed the second shot. We soon picked up our third and final shot, Nikolai and Vladimir looking at me to conduct the final toast. I raised the shot steadily in my hand as I locked eyes with both of my friends.

"To a free world." I declared, barely hearing them repeat it before I swallowed the final shot. We talked a little while longer before they had to leave. We walked back over to where easy company was mainly sitting.

"You never told me what you were doing here ya know?" I asked after I settled back between George and Joe.

"We came here to give you this." Nikolai produced a sealed envelope from inside his jacket and offered it to me. I frowned briefly before schooling my features into my usual poker face.

"Ever heard of a radio to send messages?" I joked half heartedly as I accepted the envelope before carefully placing it in my pocket immediately.

"The Germans have been intercepting our messages, we have to be more careful." Nikolai replied seriously. I nodded in understanding before standing up to say goodbye, I gave them both a kiss on each cheek before hugging them. I held onto Nikolai the longest.

" _Be safe_." I whispered in his ear as I savoured the last few moments of being near my best friend.

" _You too._ " He replied before pulling away to look at me one last time. I could hear in the background Guarnere talking to Vladimir about our relationship.

"So are they like a thing?" I heard Bill ask Botros. I could hear Vladimir laugh in disbelief.

"No they are best friends, saved each others lives on many occasions, that's a bond that can never be broken." I heard Vladimir answer truthfully in admiration. I sat back down and watched as Nikolai and Vladimir walked out the pub doors in sadness.

"Don't be sad sweetcheeks, you'll see them again." George said nudging me with his elbow, a loving smile on his face. I gave a faint smile in return at his enthusiasm.

"Yeah..." I replied uncertainly as I stole a sip of his beer.

"If it would make you feel better, I ordered a shot of vodka when I saw what you were drinking with your buddies, I drunk it and it was horrible." George exclaimed while shivering in disgust. The men began laughing, reminiscing the moment.

"George don't lie now, he didn't drink hardly any of it, he choked and most of it came back out his nose!" Bill interjected with a loud laugh to accompany the funny story. All the men began talking over each other, describing the events while George protested that they were exaggerating. I just sat back and enjoyed the ribbing and banter, mostly directed towards George. My pocket felt heavy with the weight from the envelope the whole time.

 **Sorry it is a very late reply. Those 2 weeks on holiday made my lazy and I lost some enthusiasm for this story but it is back! And I can't wait to post my chapters. I hope you like this chapter and I apologise in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Thanks for all the lovely reviews so far! Much love xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 _Aldbourne, England_

 _October 1943_

I didn't open the letter that Nikolai gave me until I got back to my living quarters. I was quartered with a lovely English couple who generously opened their doors to me with open arms. They were a friendly elderly couple called Anne and John who ran the local bakery in town. They were constantly offering me treats despite the country's rationing restrictions.

Bill and Joe Toye insisted on walking me back to my quarters from the pub despite my protests. They soon left when I past the doors threshold, using the spare key under the doormat that the Jones's left for me to let myself in after a late night out. The boys were sweet for walking me home even when I felt like it was unnecessary since I could certainly take care of myself. I sighed as I entered my room in the cosy cottage, immediately taking off my boots tiredly, heading towards the bed in relief. I sat on the edge of the bed, shrugging out of my outer jacket slowly. I heard the rustling of the letter beneath my clothes and I picked it up once it fell into my lap. I cautiously tore the seal open and removed the contents: one off-colour piece of paper.

Orders from the Kremlin to travel to London for a meeting with some officials in 5 days, the letter was vague and didn't explain who I was meeting or what it was about. Just for me to be at the Russian embassy in 5 days. I sighed in exhaustion before placing the letter in my nightstand and turning out the light in the hope that sleep will come peacefully tonight.

-Line Break-

I immediately informed Colonel Sink about my orders the next day, including Captain Sobel who was also in attendance. Captain Sobel looked suspicious to say the least at my announcement but I didn't care what he thought, the pompous ass. I soon left the HQ building with coincidentally Bill, George and Joe hanging outside the building, leaning against the wall. I walked towards them suspiciously, Bill not so subtly nudging George when he noticed me.

"What brings you lot here?" I asked, certain that they were waiting for me. Especially since I know that although Joe and Bill made up after the incident on the U.S.S Samaria they were not best friends by any definition.

"Just hanging, what brings you here sweetcheeks?" George answered quickly, looking guilty as sin all of a sudden. I raised an eyebrow questioningly at Georges response.

"George!" Joe and Bill reprimanded George in unison.

"What do you want?" I asked amused at their guilty faces.

"Perco saw you going into Colonel Sink's office, we just wanted to make sure that you were alright." George explained, showing concern on his face.

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" I answered back in confusion at what they were getting at.

"Well Perco also saw Sobel following not long after, wanted to make sure the bastard hasn't tried to get you kicked out from easy." Bill replied this time looking irritated while spitting Sobel's name in disgust.

"I'm fine guys, just informing Colonel Sink and Sobel that I'll be away for a few days soon." I assured them, feeling really touched that they cared about me.

"That got anything to do with the letter Nikolai gave you last night?" Joe asked, talking around the newly lit cigarette in his mouth as he looked at me intensely.

" Maybe," I replied, staring right back at Joe before I broke our eye contact and I started walking away from them. I walked about 10 feet away from them before I turned back.

"Oh and by the way, tell Frank he's a gossiping old woman who I will personally assign to stick with Sobel when we get into combat if he doesn't stop opening his mouth." I declared before I started walking again, not waiting for a reply from the 3 guys.

-Line Break-

Later in the day we had a field exercise where I was thankfully assigned to be with Lieutenant Winters second platoon and half of third platoon. Captain Sobel had first platoon and the other half of third. I could barely suppress my smirk at George and Franks face as they found out they were going with Sobel. I knew George saw my slight smirk as he scowled at me through the whole briefing. Frank just looked pale whenever we locked eyes, I guess my message got delivered and I'm sure that George took great joy in delivering it to Perco.

"Sobel's late." Dick exclaimed, checking the time on his wristwatch. I rolled my eyes as if to say what else is new.

"Idiot probably got lost again." I muttered quietly so only Dick could hear, Dick gave me a reprimanding look before signalling for Lipton to join us.

"We're gonna move." Dick told Lipton with a nod from me in agreement.

"Without Sobel Sir?" Lipton asked uncertainly as he bit his lip.

"It's a T intersection, we improvise. Lay down a base of fire cutting off the roads in all directions." Dick replied confidently. Lipton nodded before running off to his squad to give them the new orders. I ran back to my squad that included Guarnere to give Dick's orders. We smoothly manoeuvred into our new positions with no trouble at all and I would like to think it was mainly to do with Dick's amazing leadership. Not long after we heard Sobel and his platoon running down to road with Sobel obnoxiously yelling 'HI-YO SILVER'. When he got near to us he seemed shocked that we managed to beat him yet again, I snorted as quietly as I could but Joe seemed to have heard me as a smirk appeared on his face instantly in delight. I gave Dick a pat on his back in congratulations, at leading his men to success once again and also on causing the gaping fish look on Sobels face and the best thing was that I could see the start of a smirk appearing on his face in return.

The next day I was just leaning against a wall with Dick and Lew, killing time before our next lesson was to begin. Some of the boys thought it would be a good idea to cram in a short basketball game. The familiar roar of a jeep distracted me from exchanging teasing remarks with Lew, I rolled my eyes in annoyance as I recognised Sergeant Evans, Sobels lap dog, getting out of the jeep. Of course he had to stop right in the middle of where the boys were playing their basketball game, what an asshole. It came as no surprise when he started to walk in our direction, probably another ridiculous order from Sobel. I glared at him in irritation as he approached Winters directly and saluted us all, that we reluctantly reciprocated.

"With Captain Sobel's compliments." Was all he said smugly as he handed Dick a letter before he saluted us again and returned to his waiting jeep. He drove off quickly, but not quick enough to avoid the basketball being bounced off his bumper by Bull. He briefly glanced at the boys but decided to not turn back and argue with them. When Evans was out of sight, Dick quickly opened the letter and read it with Lew looking over his shoulder curiously.

"Spelled court martial wrong." Lew commented around the cigarette in his mouth casually.

"What?" I asked surprised as I ripped the letter from Dick's hand in surprise. I quickly scanned the letter and shoved it at Lew before storming off in the direction of Sobels office building. I didn't get very far before 4 arms were restraining me from taking another step. Dick was on one of my sides while Lew was on the other.

"Oh no you don't princess." Lew exclaimed, I just glared at him in response.

"He would just punish you if you say anything or do anything." Dick also commented. Oh I was gonna do something alright I was gonna kill him.

"He can't court martial me, I'm not apart of the U.S army." I replied back, struggling against the both of them, trying to break free from their clutches.

"I know he's not gonna court martial you because you're gonna kill him." Dick retorted, giving me a look as if he knows something.

"Well I was going to make it look like an accident on the battlefield but I can work with him shooting himself while cleaning his service weapon," I replied calmly, Lew looked gobsmacked and resembled a gaping fish just like Sobel had the other day.

"How did you know?" I asked Dick, slightly impressed with his perception.

"Your hints weren't exactly rocket science to interpret." Dick replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Don't do anything Ana." Dick stressed with pleading eyes.

"Why? He's court martialling you Dick! We need you, easy needs you!" I replied back, trying to get him to see my point of view.

"Yes but I don't want him dead Ana, the situation will be resolved." Dick replied back confidently while lowering his voice in case anyone overhears their conversation. Dick and Lew let go of my arms, confident I won't be running off again to confront Sobel.

"It better be resolved by the time I get back from London or I will take action." I stated truthfully before walking back in the direction of my living quarters. Locking eyes with my brother who was standing across the road from us and from the looks of things saw the whole encounter. I shook my head at him, discouraging him from talking to me before walking past him.

The days past fast and it soon came time for me to leave for London, the boys heard about Dick's court martial through the grapevine aka George and were outraged at possibly losing their best Lieutenant. I kept my word that I wouldn't confront Sobel but he made it hard when he would smirk in Winter's direction every chance he got. I told the boys not to do anything stupid before I left and they grudgingly agreed, Bill put up a big grumble but reluctantly agreed when I said I will take care of the situation if it hasn't been resolved by the time I came back. They letter never said how long I would be needed in London but I hoped for it not to be too long as I know that my boys need me now when their company's leadership situation is in chaos.

-Line Break-

London was spectacular. Service men and woman from all over the world walked the streets of London carefree of what the rest of the world was doing. I uncomfortably spent the whole journey by train dressed in my smart red army uniform and as soon as I saw the special city that was London, my cares seemed to drift away. Instead of getting a taxi, I decided to walk through the city that seemed to be the home of people from all over the world and it intrigued me immensely. I was saddened when the view of the Russian embassy appeared before me, located next to the beautiful Kensington park. Two Russian soldiers were posted on both sides of the entrance, I nodded at them in acknowledgment while they saluted me respectfully.

My first impressions of the interior was that it was very clean. Being at war and participating in the army left lots to be desired in the clean aspect when it came to accommodation and army facilities. A familiar figure was standing near the reception desk, flirting with the young girl manning the desk.

"Nikolai she is not interested in you!" I exclaimed when I reached the pristine desk. He looked over his shoulder at me and let out a rough laugh in response.

"That's not true, I am so close to showing her my hotel room." Nikolai replied with a wink aimed at the blushing young girl. Looking at the girl who couldn't be older than 20 made me feel decades older than I am. We were essentially the same age yet I'm positive I look older with the wear and tear of war and my own personal demons resting heavily on my shoulders.

"I take it the poor girl doesn't speak a word of English." I commented with a roll of my eyes as the girl was trying to regain Nikolai's attention.

"Now why would you say that Ana?" Nikolai smugly replied just as he tucked a piece of loose hair behind the girls ear, she giggled in response and I just sighed in exasperation at Nikolai's flirting techniques that surprisingly are quite successful.

"Because she would have slapped you by now if she heard your hotel room comment," I quickly retorted.

 _"_ _I'm Captain Belikova, I'm here for a meeting."_ I announced in my mother tongue to the young girl when she finished drooling all over Nikolai.

 _"_ _Yes of course, I'll just see if they are ready to receive you."_ The girl replied before dialling the phone connecting to the meeting room no doubt. I turned around and examined the interior of the Russian embassy some more, glancing at the paintings with some interest. 'Yes, of course' could be heard behind me before the girl put down the phone and let me know that I can go through the door she gestured to on my right. I nodded at her in thanks before heading for the door. A hand caught my arm before I could take more than two steps, I looked up to find the serious face of Nikolai staring back at me.

"I'll be waiting here for you afterwards." He informed me in an uncharacteristically serious tone. I nodded suspiciously at my best friend before continuing on towards the closed wooden door. I knocked lightly before hearing the call for me to enter.

3 older looking gentlemen were sitting round a marble table, I noticed that two were Generals while one wore the uniform of a commissar. I saluted them immediately, aware that these men could make me or break me with a single order.

" _Captain Belikova!"_ The man in the centre of the three greeted me with a wide smile, showing the gold fillings between his teeth. They all got up from their seats and walked over to where I was standing, each man shaking my hand in turn. I was confused on why they wanted to shake my hand but I didn't say a word in protest, normally the higher ups just acknowledge you with a nod. They systematically introduced themselves as General Pavlov, General Chomsky and Commissar Lewinski. They gestured for me to take a seat at the far end of the table with the others on the other far end of the table, opposite myself.

 _"_ _Such an honour to meet you Captain, we've all heard the stories of your heroic acts in combat and are thoroughly impressed."_ General Pavlov started, showing his gold teeth again once he was settled at the head of the table.

 _"_ _Thank you Sir."_ I replied, still wondering what this meeting was about as I had 3 of the most important military higher ups sitting in front of me as if they always do this. If I even know what 'this' is.

 _"_ _How goes your training with the American paratrooper unit?"_ Pavlov continued to ask, while looking down at a stack of papers in front of him.

" _Very good sir, they are a tough bunch of men, training has been very strict and useful."_ I replied back proudly as I thought about the boys back in Aldbourne who against the odds have survived their biggest obstacle so far: being under the leadership of Sobel.

 _"_ _The reports you have sent back to us seem very positive with your progress, But I wonder what you will do when they get deployed."_ Commissar Lewinski interjected with a look on his face that I wouldn't trust in a hundred years.

" _I'm sorry sir but I was under the impression that I was to follow them into combat."_ I replied confused at where this conversation was going.

" _Really? It doesn't seem... Plausible... for a veteran soldier such as yourself to fight and possibly die alongside the Americans when we already have all the information we need to train our paratroopers to the Americans own high standards."_ Commissar Lewinski replied while staring intensely at me. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair at the gazes I was attracting.

 _"_ _Sir?"_ I asked confused at what they were getting at.

" _Your current mission has been completed Captain, well done to a good job."_ General Chomsky stated plainly as if he was getting tired of the others going round in circles.

" _Thank you Sir."_ I replied after swallowing loudly. Was this it? Was I leaving easy company and going back home?

 _"_ _We have a new use for you now Captain and you are the only one who can do it,"_ Said General Pavlov, crinkling his eyes seriously.

 _"_ _We want you to stay with your current unit Captain,"_ Lewinski began, I almost breathed an audible sigh or relief but managed to reign it in including my emotions, my poker face was going strong and I was hoping it can hold out until the end of this so called 'meeting'.

" _All we want you to do is occasionally pass us information."_ Lewinski finished while beginning to light a cigar casually, as if this conversation comes up every day.

" _You want me to be a spy?"_ I asked, keeping my voice as neutral as possible. On the inside I felt like I was gonna be sick.

" _Think of it as you being more like a radio technician, collecting information and passing it on through channels."_ Lewinski quickly replied in response. I nodded thoughtfully.

" _Aren't the Americans our allies?"_ I asked, mainly thinking of my brother Ron and reluctantly Joe too.

 _"_ _Yes but we can never be too cautious with those who claim to be our allies, look at the non-aggression pact we signed with Germany in 1939 and then they went and invaded our country!"_ Lewinski quickly answered with a slam of fist on the marble table to illustrate his point.

" _Captain Belikova, do you accept your new mission?"_ General Pavlov asked seriously. All 3 men gazed at me sternly as they awaited my reply. I know that he asked a question but I knew I had no actual choice in the matter, either I accept the mission and betray my brother and friends or I say no and then consequently receive a bullet to the back of the head for being a 'traitor' to the soviet union.

 _"_ _I accept."_ I answered confidently, locking eyes with each man present. I didn't trust a single man in this room, in fact I hardly trust anyone anymore from my homeland accept Nikolai. But there is something about Commissar Lewinski that makes me want to fight my way through a whole German army just to get away from the man. He gave me a bad feeling, a really bad feeling. This so-called mission left a bad taste in my mouth and I felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. I was a pawn in their war games and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

They soon dismissed me from the room and gave me orders to return the next day to receive details of what I am required to do once I go back to easy. I walked quickly back into the main foyer and carried on past the reception desk, not even giving it a glance. I had to get out of this building before I broke down. I forgot all about Nikolai waiting for me afterwards, I didn't see him, not like I was paying attention to anything but escaping from the building that now seemed like a cage, trapping me from the outside world. I swiftly exited the building and entered the gardens, shielding my view of the building. I found an unoccupied bench and sat down while trying to learn how to breathe again. I felt a presence suddenly beside me and I knew that it was Nikolai.

 _"_ _You already knew what they wanted."_ I broke the silence quietly, speaking in Russian encase anyone overhears our conversation.

" _Yes."_ Nikolai replied while looking at me with concern.

 _"_ _Why me?"_ I asked in disbelief at what I am being made to do.

 _"_ _You already have an in with the Americans, it made sense to just continue your participation with them."_ Nikolai replied calmly while bringing out two cigarettes for us both to smoke. He lit them both and passed one over to me. I quickly took a shaky inhale of the fumes, willing it to calm my nerves.

 _"_ _And what role do you play in all of this?"_ I asked, slightly calmer as I inhaled as much of the fumes as possible.

" _I'm going to be your contact on the other side of the radio."_ Nikolai explained while looking out for anyone tracking our movements.

 _"_ _Why you? They've pulled you from the frontlines?"_ I asked in confusion, I didn't know what the higher ups were thinking, pulling a good veteran soldier from the front so he could be a radio operator.

" _Yes, Botros has taken charge of our old unit, the higher ups are playing a dangerous game."_ Nikolai responded, not looking happy at being away from our unit.

 _"_ _Tell me about Lewinski, Chomsky and Pavlov."_ I demanded as I watched for anyone suspicious in the park.

" _They're all as ruthless as each other: Chomsky, 'rumoured' to have participated in a massacre of Polish army officers in Katyn wood. Pavlov, uses our secret police like his own play toy- killing people who are 'traitors' to the soviet union and Stalin. And finally the worst of them all: Lewinski. He personally whispers in Stalin's ear, some say he convinced Stalin to pass orders 270 and 227 and if that's to be true then he is the biggest killer out of all of them, don't think you can trust any of them."_ Nikolai informed me, speaking with disgust clear in his voice.

 _"_ _I don't trust anyone anymore!"_ I exclaimed while giving Nikolai a sharp look.

 _"_ _Even me?"_ Nikolai asked while looking at me from the corner of his eye.

 _"_ _Maybe, things are taking a bad turn for our home, too much needless blood has been shed,"_ I replied truthfully while looking for Nikolai's reaction to my words.

" _I've always fought for Russia, never for Stalin, never for some General who can put his feet up while letting his men be needlessly slaughtered for the 'greater good'."_ I exclaimed passionately while shaking my head as I thought of all the men who have lost their lives in a needless act of power from their leaders.

 _"_ _Shut up,"_ Nikolai exclaimed, nudging me hard in the ribs as he furiously scanned the park again for eavesdroppers.

 _"_ _You could get shot if the wrong person heard you say that."_ Nikolai whispered while glaring at me discreetly from his place next to me.

 _"_ _Has the wrong person heard?"_ I asked him while staring at him intensely with a raised eyebrow.

 _"_ _Are you testing me Ana?"_ Nikolai asked with a rough non-humorous laugh

 _"_ _Maybe, loyalties are always tested in times of war."_ I answered back, narrowing my eyes at my best friend.

" _That's true, but you know me better than that Ana."_ Nikolai smartly replied while giving Ana a small nod.

" _I know."_ Was all I said before I got up from the bench and walked off towards my hotel without saying another word to Nikolai.

-Line Break-

The next few days were spent training me on how to use the radio they were going to equip me with. Nikolai and another expert were helping me with my training. Generals Chomsky, Pavlov and Commissar Lewinski were heading back to Russia and I haven't heard from them since. Thank god for small mercies. Nikolai has gotten over our small spat of testing his loyalties to me. He understood the reason of never being too careful at a dangerous time like this, he is similar to me in his beliefs of Stalin being a monster and the corrupt system he runs. We both have no choice of what we are being asked to do, our fault in trusting the system long ago when we signed up for the army.

I found a lovely emerald green dress in a shop window when I was wondering round the streets of London, soaking in the atmosphere that almost makes me want to never leave this vibrant city, I had to buy it, it brought me some comfort of being able to act like any other woman of my age.

I was only in London 5 days but 5 days was more than enough time, I was worried about the boys in Aldbourne especially the drama surrounding Dick's court martial. So when I arrived back in Aldbourne late at about 8, I immediately headed towards my billet house to change into my new pretty dress ready to go to the pub where I knew the boys would be. My emerald green dress matched my eyes, it had a v style at the top and it fell to just below my knees. I matched the dress with some black high heeled pumps and a small black clutch bag. I styled my hair into an elegant chiffon and added some lipstick to complete my 'woman' look. I haven't dressed up since before the war and my heart ached to the thought of what my life used to be like.

I strolled through the town of Aldbourne, seeing some familiar faces of soldiers from other companies but so far no sight of easy yet. The pub that all the surrounding soldiers come to regularly comes into my view and of course the first person I see had to be my brother, leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette. When he notices my presence he narrows his eyes at my appearance.

"Evening Ana, how was London?" Ron greeted me first, barely controlling himself from commenting on my appearance.

"London was lovely thank you, were you up to much when I was away?" obviously someone told him about my little visit to London, because I certainly didn't.

"It was nice of you to tell me you were going on a little trip, I haven't been up to much but I think you should talk to your company about their certain activities they were involved in once you were away." Ron replied with sarcasm as he glowered at me.

"I didn't realise I had to report everything I do to you, why are you picking a fight?" I retorted, my nostrils flaring involuntarily. Ron sighed while rubbing his forehead, a clear sign of stress.

"I'm sorry, it just bothered me that you left without telling me anything yet Winters and Nixon knew you were going." My brother explained.

"I'm sorry too, I honestly didn't think that I would be away more than a day or two and thought it would be unnecessary to tell you." I eased up, forgetting how much of a control freak my brother could be. Ron hugged me as if to start over our greeting and I readily hugged him back, taking comfort in his large, warm embrace. We soon pulled back and shared a small laugh to ease the tension before I remembered what Ron said about my company.

"What did you mean earlier about my company's activities?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Ron then shared all the gossip on base about how the NCO's of easy turned in their strips because they did not wanna follow Sobel into combat. I know this all had to do with Dick's court martial and I was furious that they didn't trust me enough to solve the Sobel problem when I got back from London. I breathed a sigh of relief when Ron said they were all fine and surprisingly did not get shot but warned. I best part came when I heard that Sobel has been reassigned and that Dick was back with us all. I am furious at the men but couldn't be happier that the risky gamble worked and no one got hurt except Sobels pride.

"Before we go in I want you to remember what I told you before about being careful with your position, especially with how you're dressed." Ron said just as we were going to enter the loud pub. I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I remember, what's wrong with how I'm dressed?" I answered back, gleefully making my brother uncomfortable on purpose.

"Nothing, you look beautiful." He responded truthfully with a genuine smile that I missed seeing on his face. I nodded in thanks, letting him off the hook with his comment, I knew he was just looking out for me. I headed into the pub before him, letting him finish his cigarette outside.

Of course the first person to notice my presence was George.

"Ana!" He shouted so loud over everyone's conversations that everyone seemed to stop talking just to stare at me, standing by the doorway. I heard several wolf whistles from my right and I turned to see Bill, Toye, Malarkey and Muck heading towards me. Joe was trailing behind them in a visible daze. The noise levels returned as people got back to their conversations.

"Ana! Doll you sure clean up good." Bill declared as he put an arm around my shoulder casually as if nothing has happened in the past few days.

"Why thank you, now would you like to tell me what the fuck you were thinking when you went mutinous?" I responded with a full glare aimed at the Philadelphian. Bill's face dropped, it was almost comical how the rest of the boys mumbled about getting another drink and they scattered fast, leaving Bill to face my rage.

"Ana I did what I thought was best, Sobel was gonna get us all killed." Bill explained to me, showing his stubborn side when he noticed I was gonna go on a full rant. I eased up and softened my face, giving Bill a big hug which served as more of a comfort to me than him.

"I know, I just would have been devastated if I came back and found you all shot for mutiny." I told him my fears and I held him tighter.

"I'm sorry doll, we are still here though and I promise we won't pull another stunt like that again." Bill said in a soothing voice that calmed down my panic. I pulled back and tried to plaster a stern expression on my face as I told him he better inform me if he even thought of a stupid stunt like that again. We soon joined the other boys round a big table at the back of the crowded room.

"Aww I thought you were gonna actually kill Guarnere there, I brought the popcorn and everything." George said as he greeted me with a one armed hug that I accepted happily. I shook my head with a wide smile, feeling good about being home with these men who felt like my family.

"You look beautiful, Ana." Toye greeted me with a warm smile, the alcohol causing his voice to get even deeper and soothing than it normally was.

"Thank you, darling." I flirted with him as I shot an air kiss aimed for him.

"Is there a special occasion for wearing that dress?" George asked while examining the fine material and how well it fitted on my frame.

"Yes, Sobel is gone and we are free from his tyranny!" I replied while locking eyes with all the boys round the table. They all echoed a 'hear hear' in agreement as they took a sip of their drinks. Joe was staring at me intensely again, just like when we played that game on poker in the log cabin all those months ago.

"Can I buy you a drink Ana?" Joe asked me as he stood to go up to the bar, his dark hair brushed his forehead and I couldn't help but feel attracted to him.

"I'll have a Beer please, thank you." I replied with a wide smile. He gave me an actual smile in return, not the smirk that normally rests on his face.

The rest of the night went smoothly. We were laughing and joking all night as they filled me in on everything I missed. I belonged with these guys and I can't imagine leaving them for some other unit. They were the best and I know I helped with that. Joe couldn't stop staring at me the whole night, no troubles came up between him and Bill fortunately and they all were bonding like a unit is supposed to bond. The alcohol might have been the cause of that but I didn't mind, George was undoubtably my best friend in easy and I never realised how much I had missed him till he started to tell his stories in the humorous way that he does and I couldn't stop laughing the whole time. Ron never approached our table but I could feel his eyes check up on me occasionally.

It got to about 1am when the owner had had enough and decided to kick us all out. We came out laughing our heads off, no doubt waking up the neighbours. Joe offered to walk me home and unlike the other day where I thought it was unnecessary for Bill and Toye to walk me, I didn't seem to mind this time around. We said farewell to the other fellas before heading in the opposite direction towards my billet.

We walked in almost silence, the fresh air sobering us both up immediately. Joe suddenly lit a cigarette and shared it with me when he saw my pleading eyes. I smiled at him in thanks and continued to inhale the smoke.

" You really do look beautiful tonight Ana." Joe exclaimed, breaking the silence between us. I couldn't help but blush and smile, hoping Joe couldn't see my red cheeks in the dark.

"Thank you." I replied as I recognised that we were getting closer to my assigned house.

"We missed you when you were away," Joe commented

"I missed you." Joe added much quieter, I could barely hear him but I still managed to make out the words. We finally reached the outside of the cottage I was quartered and we stopped by the front door, facing each other, I wanted to say something to Joe but I didn't know what.

"Thank you for walking me back." I settled with, thinking that was acceptable to say. Joe took a step towards me, closing the small distance between us. He reached for a loose strand of hair that came out of my hair do and tucked it slowly behind my ear. He then leaned in softly and gave my cheek a brief peck, he pulled back a little bit to make eye contact with me before leaning in and kissing my lips. I couldn't help but kiss back, his lips were so soft and inviting. I wanted to stay in this moment forever but all too soon it ended. We both pulled back enough to see each others faces and I smiled a genuine smile at Joe before unlocking the cottage door.

"Goodnight Joe." I declared happily, looking at the now flustered soldier with glee.

"Goodnight Ana." He replied in a slightly dazed voice with the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face. I reluctantly closed the door once he left and I suddenly felt alone again.

 **So that was a bigger chapter than last time. A lot to process in this chapter, things are changing for Ana quite rapidly. I just wanted to let you know that General Chomsky, General Pavlov and Commissar Lewinski are not based on any real people from history and I completely made their characters up. However the Katyn wood massacre was a real event and resulted in the execution of approximately 22,000 people committed by the soviet union, however both the Russians and germans pointed the blame to each other for many years, it was only till 1990 when the Russians admitted that their secret police carried out the mass killings . If you want to know more just look it up on the internet. Orders 270 and 227 are also true and can be looked up online.**

 **I honestly had no intention of Ana becoming a spy for the soviet union originally but the idea came to me and I'm going with it so far. Joe and Ana have finally kissed but unfortunately more drama awaits them. D-Day is coming up soon.**

 **I hope you really liked this chapter because I sure had a fun time writing it. Please review and let me know what you think about it. Much love xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 _Aldbourne, England_

 _October 1943_

I could hardly get any sleep last night, my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Joe. I'm grateful in a sense as it has distracted me from thoughts of my new orders but that kiss has confused me even more and I feel like my head is going to explode from all my worries and fears. I like Joe, I really really like Joe but I'm not sure if I can add this, whatever you call 'this' on top of my already existing problem pile. Keeping myself alive is priority one right now, from the Germans, from the Americans and to top it off- from my own country.

The boys and I had a scheduled training exercise after breakfast and I could not wait to get away from Lew and Harry who decided that today was a good day to tease me endlessly. Normally they're too hungover or sleepy to really get into it in the mornings but apparently not this morning. Of course Dick doesn't participate but I could still see little smiles appearing at the corner of his mouth sometimes. Ron occasionally joins us but he wasn't anywhere to be seen this morning. I haven't spoken a word to Joe yet but I can feel familiar eyes staring at me frequently and I'm sure that it's Joe, I've noticed that he has been less grumpy, he doesn't normally function at all till lunchtime and I think the guys have noticed to as they've been exchanging funny looks with each other.

I had just finished teasing Harry about his short size and was laughing quite heavily as he pouted when the cafeteria's door was slammed open with such a force that it banged into the wall, creating a loud noise that made everyone in the cafeteria quiet down and turn their heads towards the sound. I suddenly felt a strong arm yank me up from my seat and drag me towards the door leading to outside. I was too shocked to move initially before I broke the persons hold on me and I turned to face my brother.

"Ron? What the fuck are you doing?" I asked confused while rubbing my arm that surely will bruise from his rough treatment. His face was exhibiting barely concealed anger and I was utterly lost on what I've done to anger him.

"Outside. Now!" He demanded while pointing to the exit. I rolled my eyes before shrugging at the guys who were watching our encounter with interest. I walked out the door, trying to think about what I've done. Ron followed after, closing the cafeteria door, indicating for the boys to stay in there during our conversation.

 _"_ _Use Russian, they're probably sticking their ears to the door."_ Ron said to me as he looked out for anyone else who could be listening. I rolled my eyes again at my brothers ridiculousness but complied, unsure of where this conversation was going.

" _Fine, wanna tell me what's going on?"_ I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

 _"_ _You know what! What did I tell you to do? Be careful!"_ Ron hissed heatedly as he got closer to my face. I scrunched up my face, just as confused as before.

" _I don't know what you're talking about!"_ I nearly shouted back in aggravation.

 _"_ _I saw you and Liebgott last night, stay away from him!"_ He exclaimed, lowering his voice so only I could hear.

 _"_ _Were you following me?"_ I accused while narrowing my eyes into slits. I can't believe him, what gave him the right to follow me?

 _"_ _I was making sure you got home safe!"_ He retorted as he furiously searched around in his pockets for a cigarette.

" _No you weren't, you don't trust me do you?"_ I replied while furiously pointing at him.

 _"_ _No, especially when you pull childish stunts like this! It's like you don't listen to a word I say!"_ Ron ranted back, anger nearly reaching boiling point. I was taken aback by his answer and my eyes began to water involuntarily, I turned my head to the side to discreetly wipe away the stray tears but by the softening of Ron's face I guess he saw them.

 _"_ _I do listen to you. We're going into combat soon Ron, can't I just have some happiness till then?"_ replied with not a trace of anger but admittedly a shaky voice.

 _"_ _And what if you're caught? He won't be the one moved, you will be."_ Ron said after a few seconds of silence, his anger completely gone and worst of all his concern has made an appearance.

 _"_ _We won't be caught, besides my position here isn't as delicate as it was I'll probably just be moved to another company than back to Russia."_ I responded absentmindedly, unaware at what I just said.

" _What is that supposed to mean?"_ Ron asked, scrunching his face up in confusion.

 _"_ _Nothing."_ I replied quickly, too quickly. I walked over to the cafeteria door and opened it to reveal Malarkey, Lew and George who fell through the doorway, landing on top of each other. I rolled my eyes in exasperation at their antics but couldn't help smirking as their guilty faces looked up at me.

"Easy company! training exercise time, lets go boys!" I announced loudly so the whole cafeteria could hear me. The boys came jogging out simultaneously and waited for my instructions patiently. They knew something was going to happen because I had that 'evil' look on my face that the boys loved to point out when I was thinking of something enjoyable, to me anyway.

"Since Sergeant Luz and Private Malarkey love being useful, you two will be helping Captain Sobel pack up his belongings- tell him that I sent you. And since Lieutenant Nixon also loves to listen to people talking, you will be my personal assistant for the week. That's all, proceed to Granger field for the exercise." I announced with glee, I loved the look on their faces as I got my own back on them. The other men were barely keeping their laughter in, especially Bill who looked on the verge of collapsing from holding his breath. I briefly locked eyes with Joe who had a smile on his face, before moving off towards the field.

-Line Break-

I finally had a chance to speak to Joe alone after the training exercise was over. He seemed to be dragging his feet when the other boys left and I had a feeling he was waiting for me in particular. I smiled at him before nodding with my head for him to follow me to my billet quarters, watching out for anyone who could be taking extra interest in us. I knew the Jones' would still be at the bakery and I didn't trust my office at headquarters to not be watched by anyone. The front door of the cottage immediately led into the kitchen and I instant went over to the stove to make some coffee for us both. I signalled for Joe to sit down as I waited for the brown sludge to warm up. When it did, I carried them over to the table and received a smile from Joe in thanks. I sat down opposite him and thought about what I wanted to say but everything seemed to be jumbling together in my head.

"Ron saw us last night, that's why he went completely mental this morning." I blurted out, breaking the silence between us. Joe paled in response as he wrapped his hands around the mug of coffee.

"Shit, he's gonna kill me." Joe exclaimed as he shuddered involuntarily.

"Are you scared of my brother?" I asked amused with the tough San Francisco soldier.

"No I'm not! he's just... intimidating is all." Joe replied back frowning as I couldn't help but let out small breathy laughs.

"Wait till I tell the guys this." Was all I said before Joe responded with a triumphant smile.

"You can't because then you would have to tell them about why I would be sca- I mean intimidated by him!" Joe explained victoriously, I thought about it and sadly agreed with him that I wouldn't be able to tell the guys since they are too curious for their own good.

"Dammit!" Was all I declared as I pouted in my seat, Joe had such a carefree smile on his face it almost made me forget that there was a war on and I could almost imagine us being another ordinary couple who was just joking around with each other on a normal day.

"You're cute when you pout." Joe exclaimed once we calmed our laughter down.

"Oh so I'm not cute when I'm not pouting?" I teased him with a serious expression on just for show.

"No, you're beautiful." Joe instantly replied with a serious look on his face, not even panicking once from my teasing. I smiled at him while tucking loose strands of hair behind my ears, we unconsciously moved closer together to a point where we were right next to each other with no room for anything else. I involuntarily closed my eyes as our lips drifted together. The kiss started off slowly before an unspoken urgency began to speed up our movements, I couldn't help but run my fingers through his soft hair as Joe wrapped his arms around my waist and heaved me onto his lap, leaving no room between our bodies. I've never felt so much passion for anyone before and I felt like I couldn't get enough of Joe.

Suddenly a noise from the kitchen made us leap apart from each other instantly, we both turned our heads to see the Jones' cat and a plastic bowl spinning on the floor. I sighed in relief before turning my head back to Joe and we both let out a breathless laugh.

"Bloody cat." I exclaimed, still trying to get my breath back. Joe made a noise in his throat in agreement

"Be my girl Ana? However juvenile that sounds." Joe suddenly asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Well I Dunno... sure you wanna face the wrath of my brother?" I asked back with a beaming smile on my face.

"For you I will." Joe instantly responded with the cheeky smirk that I missed so much.

"Then yes I shall be your girl." I said with a smile. We sealed it with a chaste kiss before Joe had to leave for guard duty.

-Line Break-

Before we knew it, it was new years eve. Time had past so fast, we were constantly busy learning all we needed to know before reaching combat. I had a feeling that it was coming up soon. Joe and I have been sneaking kisses anywhere we could. Timing had been an issue due to our busy schedules but we managed as best as we could. Ron had managed to calm down about mine and Joe's relationship but I could tell he still didn't like it especially with the amount of glares he manages to direct at Joe whenever they see each other. He told me that it would have been marginally better if I had picked an officer but I just shook my head in disagreement. I wanted Joe and only Joe.

I had seen Ron walking around town with a blonde civilian woman and I had tried to ask about her to Ron but he always brushed me off about their 'friendship'. The boys were the same in the respect that they still teased each other mercilessly and even me occasionally. I've never felt such belonging before being with these guys. They were my brothers in every sense of the word and I unfortunately was their little sister, prime target for teasing.

 _Aldbourne, England_

 _December 1943_

New years eve tonight meant drinking, dancing and kissing. I couldn't wait to have a proper night out on the town. On the build up to Christmas a lot of us have been worked hard and have reluctantly been too tired to head out to the pub. Christmas passed with a drink in the barracks with the boys because the pub was closed and as close to a Christmas dinner was made by the cooks who did what the could with the rationed food. Joe and I briefly celebrated Hanukkah with what we had available but it just ended up with us cuddling under the stars.

"Gorgeous!" I heard shouted from down the street. I turned round to see George followed by Perco and Muck running towards me with mischievous smiles on their faces.

"What are you lot up to?" I asked with a raised eyebrow to let them know that I am on to whatever scheme they are cooking up together.

"Oh you know causing mayhem and chaos wherever we go." Muck replied casually as he puffed away on a cigarette.

"Now that I can believe." I replied with a small laugh.

"You wound me doll," George said with mock hurt as he clutched his chest.

"You coming to the pub tonight?" George continued with a massive smile that I swear could light up the world town.

"Of course, I wouldn't wanna miss you get turned down by the local girls." I replied with a cheeky wink. George let out a sign of outrage while Perco and Muck were laughing at George's embarrassment.

"Well if they do turn the great Luz down, I'll always have you right toots?" George asked with the most adorable expression on his face that I could never say no to.

"Sure, I'll even save ya a dance Georgie." I answered with a happy smile as George cheered up.

"Thanks Ana, I knew you couldn't resist me," George said with a cheeky wink, he quickly moved out the way of my swat that was aimed in his direction.

"Hey, wear that green dress you look gorgeous in it!" Was the last thing George said to me before running off to god knows where, Muck and Perco soon followed after. I huffed a laugh to myself before continuing on to my quarters.

I heaved a weary sigh as I entered my billet house before ascending the stairs to my bedroom. I was surprised to find a still figure lounging on my bed like he owned the place.

"Been making yourself comfortable?" I asked the figure as I dropped my gear on the floor and reached down to undo my laces on my boots.

"mmm come join me." Joe replied sleepily as he stretched out on my bed.

"I hope you were careful." I said as I kicked off my boots before jumping on the free side of the bed, cuddling into Joe's warm side.

"Don't worry I was careful, remembered to put the key back in it's place and everything." Joe answered while putting an arm around my shoulders to cuddle me closer to his chest.

"Good, How was your day Joey?" I asked while keeping my eyes closed as I listening to the sound of his beating heart which was slowly lulling me to sleep.

"It was alright, Bill and Joe are having a competition tonight on how many girls they can kiss so beware of them. What about your day?" Joe said with annoyance in his voice. I gave a small huff of a laugh in amusement and Joe just opened an eye with a slow growing smile on his face as he leaned down to drop a chaste kiss on my lips.

"My day was alright but George is up to something with Perco and Muck." I told him, nearly asleep from my weariness.

"George is always up to something, get some sleep I'll wake you up later." Joe said with a snort before catching me yawn. I complied immediately.

When I woke up it was dark and I heard movement from downstairs. I checked the time on my watch and cursed as I realised it was 7pm. I looked to my left and saw that Joe was fast asleep next to me. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to saver the moment of seeing how adorable Joe looked when he was fast asleep.

"Joe," I whispered quietly, aware of the Jones' being back from work downstairs.

"Joe!" I said more forcefully as I nudged him hard.

"What?" He muttered in my ear but didn't open his eyes.

"It's 7, get up! My hosts are home!" I whispered urgently as I removed myself from the bed. Joe's eyes opened immediately and I saw complete panic on his face, It would have been funny aside from the fact that I needed him gone right now in case we get caught.

"Oh shit," He swore as he looked around the darkness of the bedroom.

"Sorry I must have been really tired." Joe apologised as he hurriedly pulled on his boots and fiddled with doing up the laces.

"It's okay, I'll see you later at the pub." I said hurriedly as I pushed him towards the window.

"Okay- wait why are you pushing me towards the window?" Joe replied before looking in confusion at me.

"Because you're going out the window!" I exclaimed exasperatedly as I shoved him towards the window again.

"I am not going out the window, I'll sneak out back downstairs" Joe protested as he moved away from the window.

"You can't they are in the kitchen eating dinner now, are you a paratrooper or not?" I explained while opening the latch on the window and sticking my head out to see if there was anyone on the street.

"Yes I'm a paratrooper but I'm not stupid enough to jump out a two storey building!" Joe exclaimed back.

"Oh come on its not much higher than the jump platform at Benning, now go!" I said annoyed as I kept an ear out for movement downstairs. All I was thinking was how he wasn't 'stupid' enough to jump out of a two storey building but he would willingly jump out of a aircraft at 10 000ft.

"Fine." Joe reluctantly said as he positioned himself near the window for him to jump out of. I watched as he landed as softly as he could on the grass and I waved at him before he ran off to the barracks. Once again another funny story about Joe that I cannot tell anyone due to our secret relationship.

-Line Break-

I got ready as quick as I could, dressing in the green dress from a few months ago since I owned no other civilian clothes. My dark hair was down and curly, a rare look for me, and my lips were a dark red.

I greeted my hosts as I walked down the stairs and exchanged pleasantry's before a knock was heard at the door. I answered the door to find the grinning faces of George and Bill.

"Hello you two, you're my escorts tonight then?" I greeted them with a smile.

"We certainly are, you look beautiful as always doll." Bill responded with a gleaming smile.

"You certainly do, remember you owe me a dance." George interjected with an excited smile.

"Thank you and I will remember George." I responded, feeling the excitement that was surrounding the men. They both offered me an arm like proper gentlemen and I let out a happy chuckle as I took them both. When we got to the pub, the party was already in full swing with music playing loud enough to be heard outside. I laughed as I saw all the men smartly dressed in their class A's trying to flirt with the local girls.

I spotted Ron with the blonde that I have seen him with more than once and I raised an eyebrow questioningly at their exact 'relationship'. I decided to speak to him later as the majority of the boys from Easy were sitting at the large table near the back except from Talbert from what I could see. He seemed to be at the bar flirting with a brunette girl and I couldn't help but walk by them.

"Hey Floyd." I greeted him as I walked past with a bright smile on my face.

"Ana, looking gorgeous as always." Talbert responded, looking a little bit dazed as he stared after me. The girl he was chatting with didn't look impressed as she decided to walk back over to her friends.

"You don't play fair Ana." Malarkey commented as I reached the table, Talbert slowly joining us after losing the girl's attention.

"I've never said that I did." I replied with a wink at the boys who were listening, a few chuckles broke out at our table. Joey pulled out a chair for me and I smiled at him in thanks, trying not to linger my stare too long encase anyone noticed.

"You look beautiful Captain." Martin said with Bull nodding in agreement. In the past few months that I've been put temporarily in charge of easy since Sobels transfer I have gotten to know my other NCO's quite well. They are good men and I am glad that I can rely on them to get jobs done.

"Thank you." I responded with a bright smile. I could tell that this evening was going to be a good night.

"There's some vodka shots for you Ana and beers for the rest of you," George announced as he got back to the table with everyone's drink order.

"I still don't understand how you can drink that shit." George commented as he watched me down a shot smoothly. I laughed at his perplexed face as I patted him on the shoulder.

"Years of practice Georgie." I responded with a laugh.

"Years? You're only young as it is, Jesus." Bill replied in amazement. I just shrugged as I stole some of Joe's beer with a light glare from him.

"So do you know anything about our new leader of easy?" Martin asked me casually as he puffed on his cigarette.

"Dunno, heard that they are planning on moving some officers about in the 506th but nothing concrete yet, I think you boys are stuck with me for at least a few more months." I responded as I took Joe's drink again for a sip.

"Well shit, I hoped we'd have you permanently." Bill said as he leaned on the table, fidgeting with his lighter in one hand.

"I can't Bill you know this, I'm not officially part of the U.S army," I replied with a sigh as Bill looked irritated and Martin, Bull, George, Joey, Talbert and Joe Toye didn't look any happier either.

"I'm sure whatever guy we get will do fine, he can't be worse than Sobel." I continued, trying to ease their minds as much as I could.

"Yeah but you would've been better, you're an experienced combat leader, the best we got." Joe Toye responded in his gruff voice.

"Aw you're making me blush," I replied, trying to ease the tension and it seemed to have worked as the guys let out a chuckle.

"Now it's new years eve, don't worry about it for now and have some fun, I believe that I owe a dance to you Mr Luz." I finished with a smile as I stood up, waiting for George to escort me to the limited space of a dancefloor.

"Of course Miss Belikova." Luz said gentlemanly as he offered his arm to me. I accepted it and winked at Talbert as I passed the table.

Me and George had a spin around the dancefloor for a little while before Bill, Toye and Talbert wanted a go. I had just finished a song with Talbert before Joey asked to cut in.

"You really do look absolutely ravishing tonight." Joe whispered in my ear as we danced to a fairly slow song. I suppressed a blush as I looked anywhere but at him, or our connection would be too obvious to the others around us. I noted that Ron was talking to Nixon, Welsh and Winters at a table while his blonde friend was by the bar.

"Thank you Joey, you look handsome in your class A's." I replied as I briefly locked eyes with him.

"I knew you couldn't resist me in these, you couldn't keep your hands off me when we got our jump wings." Joe smugly responded as he spinned me a few more times before the song ended.

"Oh I can but I definitely do not want to." I whispered to him sultry as I looked him up and down slowly before giving his dazed face a wink as I walked over to my favourite officers table.

"Hello handsome." I greeted Lew first as I sat on his knee and stole a sip of his beer.

"Gorgeous, I've been wondering where your beautiful set of legs were." Lew quickly replied back as he took his drink back from me.

"Ana." They all greeted me as Ron raised an eyebrow at my seating situation.

"Oh relax Ron, Lew's not my type anyway." I said, noticing his questioning look.

"What? Funny, Handsome and rich isn't your type?" Lew responded looking offended as Harry and Dick let out a laugh at the interaction.

"Married, isn't my type actually." I replied with a smile as Lew looked shocked.

"Aww dammit, you're breaking my heart doll." Lewis said clutching his chest in mock hurt.

"I'm sure you'll survive." I said while patting his shoulder gently. I looked around Ron to see that his friend was still at the bar and was starting to look lonely as she sipped at her drink slowly while, no doubt, waiting for Ron to return.

"Your friend is starting to look lonely," I commented to Ron as I scrutinised her. I think that she could sense that I was staring as she met my eyes briefly before quickly looking elsewhere.

"Wow looks like you're gonna lose your friend to the Romeo of the company." I added as I saw Talbert eyeing the woman before walking over to her. Ron frowned at me before turning round to see the interaction between Talbert and the blonde woman. We all followed their interaction with our eyes and saw the woman point in our direction before Talbert pales and scampers off, avoiding looking over in our direction. Ron turns back to me smirking in satisfaction as if to say 'I won'.

"Her name is Marie actually so you can stop calling her my friend, want to meet her?" Ron said to me while smiling widely.

"No thanks, have no interest in meeting your bedfellows brother." I replied while drinking some more of Lew's beer.

"Oh yeah I forgot, never did play nice with other girls did you?" Ron retorted with a scowl that could scare anyone. Except me.

"Nope, prefer boys," I replied, popping the 'p' while looking back at Lew who was following our conversation with Harry and Dick.

"It's why I joined the army." I joked with a cheeky wink while looking at Lew, Harry and Dick. Ron huffed an exasperated sigh before turning and leaving our table, to re-join his blonde partner. I'm sure that their 'relationship' isn't serious and will be over in a few months.

Despite much begging from Lew to stay with them for a while later, I left their table and re-joined my guys just before the clock reached midnight, fireworks were banned due to the blackout so we just celebrated with a drink and a laugh while some lucky guys received some kisses from the local girls. I refused all kiss offers But I spotted Ron planting one on his friend. Poor Talbert never got his kiss while Lew certainly got his from a tall redhead. Joe kept sending me intense stares as the night began to wind down and I decided that it was time for me to leave due to much protests from George and the others before I brushed them off and left.

I was walking the familiar route back to my assigned quarters when I noticed a shadow following me. I grabbed my knife concealed in my dress and continued walking, waiting for the figure to approach me. Just as I was passing an alleyway, an arm grabbed me and pushed me into it quite gently? I quickly held the knife to my followers throat before lowering it when I saw their face.

"Joe? What the fuck? I could have killed you." I quietly swore at Joe's equally as surprised face.

"Where've you been hiding that all night?" Joe asked gesturing to the knife in surprise. I rolled my eyes at him in exasperation.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I flirted with a teasing smile before switching back to serious.

"Wanna tell me what the fuck you're playing at following me?" I asked annoyed.

"Well I never got my new years kiss." Joe explained while rubbing his neck like he always does when he's nervous. I sighed before standing on my tip toes to give him a peck, I started to pull back before he pulled me towards him again. We locked lips into a deeper kiss however I pulled back with a sigh while leaning my forehead on his, soaking in our closeness.

"Still angry with me?" Joe whispered, breaking us out of our moment.

"I was never angry with you, just annoyed, don't do it again okay?" I asked and he nodded almost immediately, either to please me or he was actually quite scared of me. We soon parted ways after Joe walked me to my quarters and I sighed in relief as I removed my high heels. I was smiling all night and still was until I saw my radio in the corner of my room and was reminded about why I was still with these men and what I am ordered to do.

 **So another chapter is here! This has quite a lot of Joe and Ana interaction and I hope that you enjoy reading this. I have already started on the next chapter and the day of days is finally here! Tell me what you think of this chapter by dropping me a review.**

 **Thanks for reading xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 _Aldbourne, England_

 _Late-May/June 1944_

It seemed like just yesterday it was new years. We thought that training in 43' was hard, it was nothing compared to the drilling that started after Christmas. I was ordered to push the boys hard, I don't think they have had this much physical training before excluding Toccoa. Winters and I made a great team when it came to leading the company and unfortunately it ended all too soon. We had some new officers transferred into our company, with one of them being first Lieutenant Meehan from Baker company who has taken over as company commander. I liked the guy, he was friendly and had no problems with me being a woman unlike some officers at HQ and I could tell that he was a good leader from some exercises performed under his supervision. Some of the guys still preferred me leading them i.e. Bill and Toye, the loudest to voice their opinions. But we have to adapt to the changes made and I'm sure that Meehan is going to be a good addition to the group. The other officer transferred is Second Lieutenant Compton or Buck as he likes to be called. Everyone immediately loved Buck, he wanted to know all the guys names and got very friendly fast when he decided to play darts and craps with the rest of the men.

My 'mission' so far has been pretty limited as nothing has happened yet, I've been wanting to come clean to at least my brother but I haven't seen him around much because of our different training schedules and the fact that he is still carrying on a relationship with that 'friend' of his.

We had all received orders yesterday that we are to be moving out soon to another location and was to pack up all our gear, I had a funny feeling that this was it, we were finally going to be deployed.

I was just walking down the country road to my quarters, soldiers were rushing everywhere trying to pack everything up before we left. I had just came from HQ and they were all working tirelessly to pack and load everything onto lorries.

"Ana!" I heard shouted behind me, I paused in my steps and slowly turned around to see Ron running up to me with the blonde girl trailing behind, Ron was in his smart class A's while the girl had a lovely white dress on.

"What's up with you?" I asked suspiciously as I eyed Ron and the blonde girl carefully as I took in their deliriously happy faces.

"I'm getting married at St Michael's right now, I want you to be one of my witnesses!" Ron explained hurriedly. I couldn't speak for a moment, in shock at what is going to happen. I pulled Ron off to the side away from the blonde girl before speaking.

"You know Ron you don't have to marry her just because we are moving out, I'm sure if she cares about you she'll wait for you to come back." I gently said to him as I looked at the girl from the corner of my eye. Ron looked at me seriously and I thought he was considering my words before he placed both hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes before he spoke.

"Ana this isn't because we're going, I love her and she loves me. Plus you're going to be an Auntie, she's pregnant! I'm going to be a dad." Ron explained while slightly tearing up at the end. And that was when I knew he was going to do through with this no matter what, he would never abandon his child and I would never ask him to. It was certainly news to me that he was in love but I suppose I should have been paying more attention. I smiled a little at the thought of a baby and couldn't help but instinctively hugging my brother tightly which he returned immediately.

"Okay but I need to get changed." I said while looking down at my dirty uniform.

"Okay, but before that I want you to officially meet my future wife and mother of my child," Ron replied while walking me over to where Marie was standing patiently, waiting for us.

"Marie, this is Ana my sister, Ana, this is Marie my whole world." Ron introduced us, we smiled at each other and this time mine was genuine as I stared at the girl that has made my brother so happy. I soon rushed into my quarters, dressing in the nicest sundress I owned, I bought a few from a local woman for leisure time.

We soon all made it to the church and I was surprised to see Joe there dressed in his class A's outside the church, along with the rest of the men who were mainly from Dog company but I did spy Nixon, Winters and Welsh already seated near the back in the church already.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Joe quietly as I approached cautiously to eyes watching.

"Your brother asked me to come." Joe replied while nodding in Ron's direction. I turned round to look at Ron who was chatting with some friends and he spotted me staring at him in confusion before he winked at me before heading into the church. Everyone else followed his lead as everyone packed into the small village church. Joe and I walked up to the front benches in the church and sat down. The wedding soon started not long after, I couldn't help but hold Joe's hand discreetly as Ron and Marie shared their vows and sealed it with a kiss. I was the first to congratulate Ron with a hug and surprisingly Marie as well just as Joe discreetly sneaked out of the church before Nixon, Winters or Harry could question his appearance.

 _Upottery, England_

 _Late-May/June 1944_

I guess Ron was right to marry quickly since we moved out the day after his wedding, reluctantly leaving his pregnant new bride behind. We were one of the first regiments to arrive at the airfield and was required to help set up all the tents ready for the other regiments to soon arrive. It was controlled chaos at the very least. All the men were disembarking from their troop trucks along with all their equipment on them into the squelching mud from the English rainfall. Orders were being shouted left and right from officers including myself and Buck Compton as we tried to stay organised and assigned quarters to our soldiers. Hoobler was chatting to a Englishman dressed in German uniform, looking deliriously happy as he played with the luger from the man dressed as a German.

"Careful Hoob, Luger's are known to go off unexpectedly." I warned him as I passed them while frowning at the German weapon.

"It sure is a beauty though Captain!' Hoobler replied as he continued to admire the handgun before handing it back to it's owner reluctantly. I nodded in satisfaction before moving on to get the rest of the soldiers sorted. I nodded at Dick and Buck as they drove past in a jeep. I noticed Buck frowning at Dick as they stopped outside Lieutenant Meehan's tent and I decided to walk up and see what that was about.

"What's up with you?" I asked as I got in the jeep's drivers seat beside Buck.

"Dick was reprimanding me for playing craps with the boys." Buck said with a frown on his handsome face. I snorted in disbelief.

"So? I play craps with the boys all the time." I answered back, a little confused at Dick's intentions here.

"Yeah but he can't tell you off since you're a higher rank than him and he's your friend." Buck replied.

"Exactly he is my friend and should feel comfortable telling me if he doesn't want me gambling with the boys, I think that it is just you he has a problem with." I teased Buck as I lit two cigarettes up and handed one to Buck.

"Wow thanks Ana, that makes me feel so much better." Buck replied sarcastically as he puffed away on his cigarette.

"I'm just joking, don't worry about Dick-" I started to reply before breaking off my sentence when Dick came out of the tent followed by Lieutenant Meehan.

"Nice to see you Ana, we better get to our debriefing meeting." Dick greeted me, a little surprised to see me, as he walked over to the jeep and climbed in the back after realising I was not going to give up my drivers seat. Tom soon followed Dick's actions and jumped in the back.

"Hey Tom, how ya doing?" I casually asked as I started the engine and whizzed off maybe a bit to fast for the current muddy terrain.

"Good Ana thanks." Tom replied with a small chuckle at Dick's face as I drove fast through the camp, beeping my horn when men wouldn't move out my way quick enough. We came near to Easy's tents and saw George outside with Talbert playing a card game and I waved as I whizzed past, only slowing down when we came to HQ's tent.

"Hey Ana, just out of curiosity who taught you how to drive?" Buck asked as the jeep came to a full stop.

"Ron, why?" I answered back confused as I got out of the jeep as the others leapt over the side of the jeep too.

"You drive fast is all." Buck replied back nonchalantly as Dick was a bit wobbly on his feet as he landed on the muddy ground. I shrugged my shoulders before entering the big tent and greeted Nixon who was already there. We waited for the rest of the officers from the 506th before Nixon started off the debrief of our mission.

"Saint Marie du Mont, causeway number one causeway number two, the ultimate field problem," Nixon started the presentation as he pointed at the big map of Normandy, France which had operation overlord written at the top.

"The estuary of the Douves river divides two beachheads codenamed Utah here and Omaha here." Nixon illustrated as he pointed at the beaches.

"Seaborne infantry will hit these beaches in force at a date timed to be specified, H-hour D-day," Nixon continued as he stepped down from the map to point at the 3D models made of the area.

"Airborne's objective gentlemen and lady is to take the town of Carentan thus linking Utah and Omaha into a single continuous beachhead." Nixon finished, looking more serious than I've ever seen. This is it.

"Eisenhower, Montgomery and the rest of the allied command has been planning this for over 2 years, it is not some barely scrapped together plan." Nixon explained to me, Harry, Buck and Dick after the debrief was finished as the others had left.

"Well I suppose that makes me feel slightly better." Harry sarcastically replied before taking a swig from his metal flask with god knows what's in it.

"We need this to be successful, The red army are gaining ground on the eastern front but we need to open up another front to spread the Germans armies thinner and relieve some pressure and hopefully we will be in Germany by Christmas." I commented as I walked alongside Nixon while smoking a cigarette.

"Ana has the right idea, be optimistic guys." Lew declared while putting an arm around of her shoulders.

"I didn't say it would work Lew, I said that it HAD to or England and America will be the next to be occupied." I replied gloomily as I left them and headed for the boys tents where I found them playing cards.

"Briefing at 1400 in the HQ tent fellas, pass the word." I announced formally as I stuck my head through their door briefly before leaving for my own tent and I immediately got on the radio to Nikolai who was expecting my call.

-Line Break-

All the men were assembled at 1400 and sat down while glancing nervously at the maps behind us officers that were stood up to inform them of our objectives.

"Each trooper will learn this operation by heart and know his and every other outfits mission to the detail," Meehan concluded as he paced up and down the stage area. I looked at the men's faces in the audience and noticed that many were putting on a poker face to hide their feelings.

"Lieutenant Meehan!" Dukeman said standing up to be seen.

"Yes Dukeman." Tom answered back, not missing a step.

"Sir, are we dropping tonight?" Dukeman asks anxiously.

"When it's time for you to know, we'll let you know." Meehan replied immediately while the boys looked at each other and rolled their eyes at the officers response. Many were puffing away on their cigarettes to help with their nervousness and anxiety of what is to come.

"In the meantime study these sand tables, maps and reconnaissance photos until you can draw a map of the area by memory," I interjected, all eyes suddenly on me.

"Now we will drop behind this Atlantic wall, 5 hours before the 4th infantry lands at Utah," I continued as I pointed at the map in question.

"Now between our assembly area and the battalion's objective there's a German garrison right here in this area, Saint Marie du Mont, Easy company will destroy that garrison." I finished explaining while locking eyes with a few of the men, Bill, Joey and Webster to name a few. The men were soon dismissed and I smiled proudly as the majority of the men stayed in the tent to trace a rough drawing of the map.

It was later in the evening when I got a knock on my tent. I was just laying on my back on my cot, still partially in my uniform apart from my boots and jacket since we are on standby. Joey's head appeared first between the tents entrance before his body did- half still in his uniform, his torso was just covered in a plain white PT shirt, his dog tags were hanging out of his shirt loosely, but his combat pants and boots were still on.

"Hey Joey." I greeted him with a sleepy smile as I beckoned for him to join me on the cot.

"Hey Ana." He replied back quietly as he sat down on the cot while he undone his laces on his boots and pulled them off his feet. He then proceeded to lay down next to me and I lifted my head onto his chest, listening for his calming heartbeat.

"Are you scared?" I asked after a minute of silence between us.

"Yes," He answered back quietly and I moved my head so I could see his face and he could see mine. I never thought Joe would admit something like that, knowing how proud he is of not showing any emotions.

"But not for myself, I'm scared for my friends who may not come back alive, I'm scared for my family if I do not come back alive and I'm scared for you as I don't know what I would do if you don't come back to me alive." He elaborated as we stayed making eye contact in what felt like forever before I leaned forward and we shared a slow, tender kiss that very well may be one of our last.

"Are you scared?" Joe asked after we leaned back from the kiss and Joe hugged me tightly to his body.

"Yes, for my friends, my brother and you." I replied as I burrowed as close to Joe as possible.

"Your Brother? Believe me if anyone's going to survive the war it would be him, he's one of the toughest men I know." Joe replied, trying to reassure me as much as he could but I knew differently.

"Maybe, but I doubt he'll be the same," I replied as I thought long and hard about my brother who is one of the strongest men I know but not so much emotionally. Joe looked at me in confusion and I continued to explain.

"War changes everyone, I know, but I'm afraid that it is going to unleash only the worst in Ron, just like our father." I explained as best as I could.

"Your father? I've never heard you speak about your father" Joe asked while playing with my hair absentmindedly.

"My father is the worst kind of human, he wasn't even in my life half the time but he still ruined it. He used to emotionally torment my mother and sometimes me, he used to physically hurt my mother too even after their divorce but Mother wouldn't let him hurt me. It got so bad that my mother considered marrying one of the men she knew in town so that we could be protected when he visited. From what Ron's told me his childhood wasn't much different except his mother was never hurt physically like mine was. I guess he thought we were easy targets." I explained in a monotone voice as I tried not to flashback to the past.

"I'm sorry that happened to you and your mother, I guess that's why you won't take his last name?" Joe replied after a minute of digesting the news.

"It was a long time ago, I haven't seen him in 5 years and yes I prefer Belikova because I refuse to have his name. I'm scared that Ron may turn bitter like him after the war." I confessed with a slight quiver in my voice.

"Ron won't be like him, he'll have us by his side to help him get through the tough times ahead." Joe reassured me in his calming voice. I smiled at the 'us' he used and couldn't help but think of the future we could have together.

"But what if I change to be like him?" I asked looking up at Joe, revealing my biggest fear as my eyes began to watering involuntarily.

"You won't because I'm going to be by your side every step of the way." Joe replied seriously while keeping eye contact with me, trying to convey how serious he is.

"Promise?" I asked quietly while never losing eye contact.

"Promise." He confirmed before pulling me in for another tender kiss that made my sigh in satisfaction. If I was to die tomorrow, I would die a happy lady indeed. Not much time past by before I heard a knock at my tent entrance and I started to panic briefly before a familiar voice calmed my nerves.

"Ana, it's me, can I come in?" Ron asked outside my tent, impatience clear in his voice. Joe started to move out from under the blanket of the cot but I held him tightly towards me, not letting him go, not caring about what Ron would think.

"Yeah." I answered while Joe tensed uncomfortably as Ron entered the tent and rolled his eyes at seeing us in the cot together.

"You could have told me you had Liebgott here." Ron scowled immediately.

"He's practically family." I replied, not entirely thinking about what I said carefully.

"Really? Because I see no ring on your finger unless he's knocked you up." Ron replied tensely. Joe recoiled in shock and looked at me as if Ron's accusations had any truth in them.

"No I am not pregnant, Joe is my significant other so I would like you to be nice to him," I replied with a roll of my eyes as Ron noticeably calmed down at that information.

"This isn't just a fling, we've been together for nearly 8 months now." I finished while trying to get Ron to understand how deeply we feel for each other.

"I'm sorry, it's just seeing my little sister in bed with a man is the last thing I expected to see when I came into your tent." Ron apologised while mumbling an apology to Joe also.

"Sorry it's just she's my baby sister." Ron explained to Joe civilly.

"It's fine, I've been worse with my own sisters and their boyfriends." Joe replied back, relaxing his muscles finally after Ron has lost all his anger.

"I wanted to ask you something Ana," Ron started, looking more serious than I've ever seen before. Just as Joe was moving to give us some privacy Ron said that Joe can stay.

"I want you to look after Marie and the baby if anything happens to me when we get into combat." Ron explained seriously and my heart almost jumped at the thought of my brother not making it back to his family and me.

"Of course," I answered back while taking a big gulp at my brother going to war finally.

"Oh yeah I forgot to tell you, I'm going to be an Auntie!" I said to Joe, turning my head to face my boyfriend. Joe rolled his eyes at my forgetfulness before reaching across to shake Ron's hand.

"Congratulations!" Joe said to Ron as they shook hands. Ron thanked Joe graciously with a genuine smile for once before getting up from sitting on my trunk.

"That doesn't give you two any excuse to create one though!" He warned with a finger pointed in our direction and I breathed a sigh at how quickly his moods could change.

"We know, we'll wait till after the war is over okay?" I responded with a little sarcasm and I could hear Joe suddenly cough in surprise. Ron mumbled a 'you better' under his breath as he headed for the exit but suddenly paused as he spotted something.

"New radio Ana?" Ron asked with a suspicious lilt to his voice as he turned back around to face me with a frown. I glanced at my new radio in the corner with slight panic before I schooled my features to reveal nothing.

"Yes." I answered simply, urging him to leave already. Ron raised an eyebrow questioningly before turning back around towards the exit of the tent and proceeded to leave. Leaving just me and Joe alone together. Joe snuggled back down into the blankets, intending to get some sleep but I couldn't sleep. I looked over at Joe to see him fast asleep, god that was quick, he must have been really tired. I let out a quiet sigh before quietly slipping out from under the blankets and proceeded to put my boots on.

The touch of the cool air outside my tent relieved my hot skin and calmed my nerves slightly. I headed in the direction of the tent where they were putting on a film for the boys. John Wayne I think, so George would be in his element tonight. Just as I was passing by I saw a quick familiar figure rush out of the tent and decided to follow him. He finally stopped near a tent and proceeded to sit on the grass with his face in his hands, I quietly sat next to him, patiently waiting for him to say something. I know that he noticed my presence because he shifted slightly when I sat down.

"My brothers' dead." Bill announced, lifting his head to look at me. I sighed in sympathy as I wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him in for a hug.

"I'm sorry Bill." I simply said, not knowing how to handle this situation.

"He was a good brother, always helped me when I needed it. My mother is gonna be heartbroken." Bill announced in a monotone voice, slightly cracking.

"He still is a good brother, I'm sure he's looking out for you up there." I replied, trying to bring some reassurance to Bill.

"I hope so, I'm gonna need it tomorrow." Bill said quietly. I let out a small chuckle at that.

"I don't know what you're talking about, you're one of the toughest soldiers I know." I said, making Bill smile.

"And you are our very own Russian warrior princess, if anyone's gonna make it through, it's you," Bill replied with a big smile that I couldn't help but reciprocate.

"I'll cover for you and Joe tonight." Bill finished while starting to stand up.

"Excuse me?" I asked, trying to keep the panic from my voice. Bill just laughed at my face which I'm sure revealed all my feelings.

"Don't worry, I've known for a while now, O'Gonorrhoea doesn't miss anything," Bill said teasingly as I swatted him with my hand.

"The others are still oblivious idiots." He commented with a chuckle before walking away from me, where I was still sitting on the grass in surprise.

"Hey Bill!" I shouted as I got up, luckily he didn't get very far. Bill turned around and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Thank you, I'll see you on the other side." I said loudly so he could hear. He just nodded in recognition before continuing to walk back to his tent. I soon followed the trail back to my own tent where Joe was still sleeping peacefully. I removed my boots once again and joined Joe in the cot where he immediately wrapped his arms around me, his steady heartbeat lulling me soundly to sleep.

-Line Break-

The sound of men talking loudly outside woke me from my slumber. I looked over to see Joe, already awake, sitting at the end of the cot in silence. His back towards me.

"Morning." I said, my voice still groggy from sleep. Joe turned around to look behind at me, a small smile appearing on his face when his eyes made contact with mine.

"Morning Liebling." He replied, moving back onto the bed to where his knees were placed on either side of my hips and his hands were on the pillow on either side of my head, hovering over me. His dog tags were freely dangling in front of his shirt and I couldn't resist grabbing them, moving him close enough to kiss. We kissed like the world was ending, which I suppose in that moment it was. After a few minutes, we pulled back and I looked at Joe. Really looked at him, memorising his face. I cupped his cheek with my hand and rubbed a thumb softly over his cheekbones, Joe turned his face into my touch, savouring the moment between us.

"I love you." He announced, breaking the temporary silence between us.

"I love you." I replied back.

 _Somewhere over the channel/Normandy, France_

 _5_ _th_ _/6_ _th_ _June 1944_

Riding in the C-17 aircraft gave me, and I'm sure the other guys too, ample time to think about your life. I thought about my mother, how much I miss her, how I long for her to hold me just once more before I descend into hell. For the actions I have committed and the actions I am going to commit I know there is no redemption but I hope there is some forgiveness for my soul.

Tom Meehan was up near the cockpit when the familiar sounds of anti-aircraft fire opened up. I couldn't bare to look out of the window and instead my hands were the focus of my interest. Tom soon came back down to the back of the aircraft, reassuring Sergeant Evans, Sobels ex-pet who looked frozen in fear. The Anti-aircraft fire got so close, I could feel the heat from the near misses. The Red light soon was switched on and as Captain, I was supposed to be first out the door, even in front of Meehan who was my commanding officer. Everyone was clipped in and was checking their equipment as fast as possible.

Suddenly everything seemed to happen in slow motion, the green light switching on, the explosion to the wing, the engulfing fire and pressure that made me fly out the door. I was tumbling fast, too fast through the cool air. I watched in horror as my plane lost altitude ahead, men coming out the door engulfed in flames. Probably dead before they even hit the ground.

I unexpectedly hit the ground seconds later, feeling pain shoot up in my ankle. I didn't have any time to think about it anymore before I saw from the corner of my eye something whizzing through the air before everything went black.

 **So another chapter is up! This chapter is part of day of days and continues into the next chapter.**

 **This was a bit emotional as it started with a wedding and ended with Ana's condition unknown. Hope you like this chapter.**

 **Review and let me know what you thought. Much love xxx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 _Normandy, France_

 _6_ _th_ _June 1944_

Ouch. That is all I thought as I woke up, feeling sore and groggy. I blinked quickly, trying to focus my eyes to what is happening around me. I supress a moan of pain as I suddenly remember that I am in enemy territory. My vision soon focuses' as I attempt to move, pushing the heavy weight of what appears to be someone's leg bag off my head. _I got knocked out by someone's stupid leg bag._

I take a slow, quick peek just over the long grass that is concealing me. I can't see anything and it's hard to hear anything as the last of the planes fly over noisily. I can't have been out very long then. I quickly pat down my body, feeling for my equipment that is thankfully still there except for my leg bag, that probably knocked some other poor guy out like a domino effect.

I slowly start to advance through the long grass towards a line of trees that look like a path to a road or at least a footpath. I need to get my bearings I thought to myself as I tried to make out a landmark or sign. I quietly walked past a paratrooper's body who looked to have been dead before he even hit the ground, with scores of blood soaking up his khaki uniform. I hadn't walked far before hearing noises coming up ahead. I crouched behind a tree as I attempted to distinguish whether the noise is coming from a friend or foe. The noise edges closer to my position and I recognise it to be talking, loud talking. Germans. No American could possibly be that stupid when in enemy territory.

I wait until they get close enough, so that they are almost on top of me before I plunge my knife into the first soldiers throat, I then proceed to slash the second soldiers throat and take the third hostage with him in front of me. The final soldier lets loose a spray of fire from his MP40, hitting his buddy that I've taken hostage, the gun fire did not last long as his gun soon jams. I drop the now dead soldier to the ground before pulling my Tokarev out and aiming at the final soldier who is desperately trying to get his gun to work, I coldly look him in the eye before pulling the trigger.

I quickly set off in the opposite direction the Germans came from, not in the mood to run into any more patrols. The slowly drying blood that now stains my uniform has attracted the flies that annoy me instantly. I continue on foot through the humid French countryside, It was a beautiful place excluding the bodies and fallen C-47 aircraft's that littered the fields. Every time I saw a dead body, I had to see that it was not someone from my company, that it was not Dick or Nixon or Speirs or least of all… Joe.

Joe P.O.V

My landing was crazy. I ended up landing with a small group of guys from my company including Buck. We instantly were engaged in a fire fight with an anti-aircraft crew before killing them all and moving on, towards our rally point. We got there at sun up and were sorely disappointed at what we found. There was no one else there from Easy. We quickly reported to the officer in charge, and found that a good 98% of the company were unaccounted for and my heart clenched at the guys and Ana that hadn't arrived. Buck quickly tried to reassure us that the rest of the guys and Ana are fine and they just need more time to get here since we were dropped all over the god damn place by our inexperienced pilots. We were resting against a stone wall, while watching and waiting for our guys to show. Slowly more soldiers started to trickle in, none from ours yet. However we were soon reunited by a group led by Winters. Buck seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as his friend and superior started to take charge, relieving Buck of the duty. In Winters group was Bill, Popeye, Toye, Lipton and a few other faces that were not too familiar to me. I quickly greet the guys with smiles, just happy to see more familiar faces and I gathered hope inside that Ana and the rest of the guys will be okay.

"Anyone seen Ana?" I immediately asked the group, even though I knew the answer. The boys shook their heads and shared concerned looks.

"Naa, She'll be fine though, toughest broad I've ever known." Bill replied in a gruff voice before storming off. I frowned at Bill's retreating back in confusion, wondering why he appeared to be so angry.

"What took a bite out of his ass?" I asked snarkily as Bill disappeared among a large group of soldiers. More and more were trickling in.

"Found out his brother got it in Monte-Cassino, right before we jumped." Toye replied while lighting the smoke between his teeth. I looked back at Bill in sympathy before a heavy hand fell on my shoulder, I slowly turned round to find familiar emerald eyes staring back.

"Liebgott." Spiers greeted gruffly, while puffing away on a cigarette.

"Lieutenant Spiers." I greeted back with a nod of respect. The rest of my buddies immediately left with a greeting to him which he acknowledged with a nod.

"Have you seen Ana?" Speirs asked while looking around, appearing to look unfazed by everything going on around him. Men were being brought in on stretchers while crying out in pain and yet Speirs looked like he always did, serious and collected.

"No, she isn't here yet, Lieutenant Winters and Buck are over there though." I replied, trying to keep the worry out of my voice and face. Spiers nodded thoughtfully and his face tightened fractionally before storming off towards where I pointed Winters and Buck to be. I soon joined the rest of the guys by a waist height stone wall as I watched Spiers approach Winters and Buck before storming down the road from where the entrance of the camp was.

"What was that about?" Toye asked curiously, in a low voice so only I could hear, he watched Spiers as closely as I was.

"He's looking for Ana." I replied shortly as he disappeared from my sight and I slowly lowered my eyes to the ground as I fumbled around for another cigarette. Not five minutes later did Malarkey run over to sit with us. Malarkey was pale and shaky as he fumbled to get his water canteen to his lips. We all looked over at him in bewilderment, as we have never seen him in shock before.

"What's up with you?" I asked sceptically as he continued to fumble with his canteen while following Spiers with cautious eyes as he walked past our group.

"He killed them all." Malarkey mumbled in shock. I shared a look with Toye before prodding Malarkey.

"Killed who?" I asked, needing more clarification.

"The German prisoners up the road, he just… Swung up his Thompson and…" Malarkey replied in a daze, as if he was dreaming.

"Jesus Christ." Toye said before leaning back to rest against the wall, assessing Speirs with his eyes. I looked at Speirs, who had his back to us and was talking to another officer from his company, calm as could be. It probably made him feel better about Ana missing. How I wish that I could go out and kill some Krauts just because the thought of them hurting Ana in any way was too much to bear.

"They are saying that Meehan's plane went down." Popeye said in greeting when he joined the rest of the men, who were laying down.

"Who's saying that?" I asked absentmindedly as I fiddled with a loose bit of cotton on my jacket.

"The officers, if it's true then Winters is our new commanding officer," Popeye replied while situating himself down on the grass with the rest of us.

"Ana was on Meehan's plane." Popeye added quietly while staring off into the distance. I paled at hearing that. I didn't know what plane Ana was on, things were chaos leading up to the jump and I never got the chance to see who's stick she was with.

"Are you sure?" I asked sharply while looking to see if Popeye was in any way teasing. But his face remained serious as he nodded reluctantly.

"She'll be fine," Bill said, breaking the 2-minute silence around us as we thought of Ana going down with the plane.

"She's a tough broad, the toughest one I know besides my ma." Bill continued, trying to reassure us but not doing a good enough job to convince us as his face remained stormy, it's been that way since we got to France.

"Easy company, over to the barn." Winter's suddenly ordered, breaking us all out of our thoughts of our lost comrades. We all stood up and made our way to the barn, ready to receive our next orders.

Ana P.O.V

For the twelfth time today, I wacked a mosquito off my neck- where they were attracted by my sweat and dried blood. I trudged myself through the French countryside in the humid heat that I dislike so much. I'm more of a Winter person, enjoying the cold weather to hunt. Since I left the Germans dead bodies, I have been desperately trying to avoid any more German patrols and slowly make my way to our rallying point, I think of the men who are already there and may need my help. It's slow going, trying to avoid enemy soldiers while also trying to keep heading in the right direction- dodging the flooded fields that the Germans ruined to confuse our sense of direction as I go. The guns that echoed from Utah beach, to signal the invasion by sea, was hours ago. I'm hoping to be at our rallying point by night but it's difficult to navigate in the darkness even though it is easier to move than when it is light out.

I finally reach our rally point just after darkness covered the land. I'm soon pointed to the aid station as my appearance of being covered in blood would scare even the most battle-hardened soldier but I shrug them off and continue to ask about the whereabouts of Easy company. I'm soon directed to a troop truck with light and smoke coming from the roof that conveniently has a hole cut out from. I smirk at the boy's resourcefulness and quickly duck under the tarp, scaring the living daylights out of them.

"Evening." I greeted as I smell the most repulsive odour coming from within the truck.

"Jesus Malarkey is that you again?" I asked while pulling a disgusted face as I glared at the common culprit.

"Sure is doll, It's good to see ya Ana." Toye was the first to greet me, breaking out of his shock quicker than the rest of the men, who continued to gape at me as if I was an alien.

"Ana, Jesus Christ! What happened to you?" Bill said from opposite my seat, staring at the blood in horror.

"Dropped in Normandy, just like the rest of you, the bloods' not mine." I said with a smirk as I stole the canteen out of Bill's hand and took a gulp of what I could only describe as heaven, having run out of my ration packs hours ago and now I was a seriously hungry girl.

"You gave us a scare, we thought your plane went down." Buck said while looking at my face with those pale blue eyes of his, trying to figure out what happened.

"It did go down, I got out, the rest didn't." I replied, displaying no emotion in my voice as I experienced a flashback to when I watched the plane burst into flames. The boys looked at me in astonishment and sadness as they realised they lost a lot of great men to a lucky hit by flak.

"Well I better check in with Winters, know where he is?" I asked while semi standing up in the truck, signalling the end of my visit.

"Down there, a little way probably." Lipton helpfully answered while finishing off his dinner. I nodded my thanks and handed Bill back his canteen- now half empty.

"Nice of you to grace us with your presence princess." Bill said in parting as I jumped down from the tailgate of the truck.

"Well you know me Bill; have to leave you guys hanging a little." I replied with a wink before covering the tailgate up, blocking the light from escaping the truck. I listened as the boys laughed; I smiled as I walked away- happy that they survived today and I could only hope that they survive the next day too.

I walked down past some unused army trucks as I followed Lipton's helpful directions as to Winters whereabouts. I soon found him leaning against a parked jeep, looking out to a town not so far away in the distance. It was being bombed and the sky was lit up in red and orange as the town burned.

"Rough day?" I inquired quietly as I made my presence known. Winters didn't even blink as he turned his body to face mine.

"I lost a man under my command today." Winters said in a daze like voice. I nodded sympathetically and chose to let him carry on but he stopped talking. I hid my fear as I thought of Joe, who I have yet to see alive and well.

"Dick, as cold as it sounds, you are going to lose a lot more men under your command." I replied while thinking about the men lost on my plane.

"You're right, does it get any easier?" Dick asked, looking at me for guidance and advice, knowing that I am the only one who can give it to him. I shook my head in denial.

"No, but you learn to live with it. You will always have a dull ache in your chest for the ones that you couldn't save but you will learn to live with it." I said while looking at Winter's with a weak smile as I remember the souls lost in Stalingrad and Moscow. Dick nodded in understanding while looking out again to the burning town.

"You are supposed to be dead." Winter's said, while not looking at me. Dick has seemed to have broken out of his mourning mood and finally has been brought back to the present. I let a small smile reach my face.

"Mmm that is the general consensus, isn't it?" I teased with a smirk, pleased with my sudden resurrection that shocked everyone.

"Meehan?" Dick asked questioningly. I shook my head and sighed in reluctance as I realise that I'm going be telling this story for a long time to come.

"There will be no more boys from my plane showing up." I explained in a quiet voice, trying not to wake the dead. Dick nodded in understanding.

"It's good to see you Ana." Dick said with the first smile I've seen today. He soon walked away, leaving me to my thoughts.

"It's good to see you too." I said quietly, doubting that Dick even heard me. I simply stood there for a few minutes, looking over to the burning town in deep thought.

It wasn't till the next day, that I found Joe. I found the boys in the same truck, cooking themselves some breakfast- eggs and bacon by the look and smell of it. Probably stolen from one of the houses nearby.

"Hey! Look who came to join us." Bill announced loudly while helping to pull me into the back of the truck and I instantly met the familiar brown eyes that I knew too well. They widened in shock and then relief. I frowned as I thought back to when everyone thought I was dead, even Joe apparently.

"Ana, when did you get here?" Joe greeted, trying to hide his affection and need to reach out and touch me.

"Late last night." I replied while filling my canteen up with eggs and small pieces of bacon. Mouth-watering at the best breakfast we've had in a long time.

"Yeah, scared us to death, turned up covered in blood and started stealing our food." Malarkey cheekily exclaimed around a mouthful of egg. I stuck my tongue out at him, childishly while the others chuckled at our banter.

"Yeah, we were thinking about giving you a nickname: The unkillable Captain." Bill said extravagantly while starting to munch on his own food. I glared at the guys, not liking the nickname at all.

"No." I said instantly, shutting down their dreams.

"Why? Your brother has Sparky! Unless you want us to call you Sparkette?" Bill moaned at my crushing of his dreams.

"Sparky?" I questioned, it was the first time I ever heard Ron with a nickname.

"Yeah, because he's ya know…" Malarkey tried to explain while forgetting his words at my raised eyebrow, only just realising who he is talking to.

"He's a real ray of sunshine that's what he is; you hear what he did to a group of German prisoners?" Bill asked, unafraid of talking to me about my brother unlike Malarkey.

"No, what?" I asked, trying not to show how concerned I was.

"Massacred them, apparently he just swung up his Thompson and let loose." Bill said in awe and intimidation. I immediately schooled my features, not betraying how scared I was. My worst fear was coming true, Ron loosing himself to war. I caught Joe's eye briefly, looking concerned at my reaction. Joe was the only one who knew my fears of Ron changing after seeing war.

"No, he didn't. And don't tell anyone else that he did." I harshly replied, locking cold eyes with everyone in the truck.

"Ana…" Bill started to say gently but I wasn't listening, I needed to protect my brother and the only way I knew how was to intimidate everyone that knew.

"You saw and heard nothing about a massacre of German soldiers, do you understand me?" I clarified while looking them all in the eye, with frightening coldness. A chorus of 'Yes Captain' passed around before I jumped out the back of the tailgate and stormed off, looking for my complete idiot of a brother.

"Fuck, she's scary sometimes; I think I wet my pants." I heard Malarkey say before I got out of hearing range of the truck.

I found a few soldiers in Dog Company, loitering outside the aid station and demanded them to tell me where their Lieutenant is, still reeling from what my brother had done. They soon pointed him out to me across the yard and I stomped over as quickly as I could; wanting answers that only he could give me. I surprised him when I slid up beside him as he enjoyed a puff of the cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth.

"Surprised to see me?" I asked neutrally as I watched the score of men walk past, refusing to look at him- knowing my anger may get the best of me if I did.

"Yes, I heard you were dead." Ron said casually while only I could pick up the slight break in his voice when he said the word 'dead'.

"Lucky escape, I heard that you have not been behaving." I replied quickly, while making sure that no-one was paying any special attention to our conversation.

"Depends on what you have heard." Ron said, playing a game that was slowly losing my patience.

"Stop messing with me," I said, looking Ron in the eye for the first time since before D-Day. My eyes surely showing my anger and displeasure.

"I've heard rumours of you massacring a group of German prisoners." I spat out in a whisper, trying to keep this conversation as quiet as possible.

"Just Rumours." Ron brushed off coolly. My anger flared at his disregard at what he had done. I wasn't bothered about the lives of the now deceased German soldiers, I was more worried about this being heard by Sink with horrible consequences.

"And what if the wrong person heard these 'Rumours'" I said with a bite in my voice.

"They won't, don't worry about it." Ron said firmly.

"Lucky for you, I quashed them in my company instantly. There will not be a next time, will there Ronald?" I asked, in a more demanding tone than an actual question. Using Ron's full name always pisses him off.

"No." He simply said through clenched teeth, as if it pained him not to start an argument with me right here and now. And knowing him, it probably did pain him a lot.

"Good, do not keep anything from me, secrets are not becoming of you." I said with a twist of my heel as I began to walk away.

"Secrets are not becoming of you too, little sister- nice radio you had in your room by the way." Ron said, getting the last word in. I paused in my steps for a moment in terror before quickly continuing on my way, searching for a spot to recollect my thoughts. He could not know, could he? He can't know. I shook my head as I marched away, too far in my own thoughts to see the boys staring at me as I walked past them- not even sparing them a glance.

We soon moved out to a different town. More and more men were joining us, except for George, Talbert, Shifty and Smokey- who remained missing. It is now D-Day +7 and we have yet to take our main objective, Carentan, because of the lack of strength in men and the regroup of the whole division.

We were now lounging in the sun of a square in one of the last villages before Carentan. The fact that we are still missing a few key members worried us all- although we all chose not to show it.

Joe and I have not had a single private moment since we found each other. The boys are always crowding us; I am in many meetings with Sink and the other officers of the 506th- we have encountered stronger German resistance than first anticipated.

"Hey look who's decided to turn up!" I heard shouted over the crowd of Easy company that loitered around the quiet French village that we took a day ago with little resistance from the Germans. In my mind that could only mean that they were building up a strong force somewhere further to stop our advance, most likely Carentan- a strategic town that's important to both sides. I sat up at the shout and decided to get up and investigate who has turned up- hoping it's my missing friends.

I pushed through the crowd of heavily supplied paratroopers to the middle and immediately grinned at the familiar smirk that greeted me.

"Mrs Luz!" George exclaimed, his face was still darkened from the camo paint we put on a few days ago but was now accompanied with dirt from the woodland. I laughed and put my hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze to show my happiness at seeing him. A downfall of being an officer- not being able to hug him like any other enlisted can.

"It's good to see you doll." George replied, understanding the gesture and appreciating it all the same. I looked beyond him to see Talbert, Shifty, Smokey and a blonde man that looked familiar but I couldn't recall his name- they were all being greeted as well.

"It's good to see you too, George." I replied softly, trying to convey how happy I was without saying it. I've always had trouble with conveying my actual emotions.

George and I joined the rest of the men and I greeted the newcomers with smiles and 'good to see you'

"I knew you guys would make it, I helped train you, didn't I?" I said after being reassured that they were all ok.

"Yes, you did, Captain- and you did a good job of it!" Talbert replied with a pleased smile and a cheeky wink. I laughed and watched as the men suddenly started getting on to the topic of what loot they have collected. I soon found out later that the small group dropped straight into a firefight and joined up with some guys from the 501st to fight their way back to us- that made me even prouder. Their loyalty to the company and their skill truly made me blessed to serve with them.

"Let's go! First platoon," I heard Welsh shout over the crowded courtyard of soldiers. He then took a swig from his canteen that was clearly not water as he winced. I suppressed a sigh in exasperation as I walked up to him with a questioning eyebrow raised.

"Easy's moving out! On your feet!" He ignored me and continued to get the men moving towards our position.

"Listen up! It'll be dark soon, I want light and noise discipline from here on! No talking, no smoking and no playing grab fanny with the man in front on you Luz!" Welsh demanded as the men were still putting their heavy gear on. I looked at them all Cooley- hoping they will realise the importance of what Harry is saying.

"Or Woman." Harry added with an amused smirk. The men grinned up at me, George especially with a mischievous smirk. Now that we are going to be entering enemy territory I will not be lenient on any of them that still believed war was a game.

"We are going to be advancing through enemy territory and if anyone even thinks to pull a prank on anyone and compromises our position- will be going home in a body bag!" I sternly advised while locking my emerald eyes that had grown cold onto anyone that looked up at me. The soldiers immediately straightened up while wiping the grins off their faces. No more mucking around kids, this is it.

"Where are we headed?" A blonde soldier I didn't know the name of asked.

"We're taking Carentan." Welsh replied with a serious look that made me appreciate how much of a good platoon leader he is.

"That sounds like fun." The soldier replied sarcastically. I narrowed my eyes at his attitude.

"It's the only place that armour from Omaha and Utah beach can link up and head inland, until we take Carentan they're stuck on the sand," I explained before Welsh could. Carentan was an important town to both sides and if we wanted to advance more inland- we needed it.

"General Taylor's sending the whole Division." I added, trying to be reassuring.

George scoffed and smirked "Remember boys, give me 3 days and 3 nights and a lot of fighting and you will be relieved." He said in an accurate voice of General Taylor. The boys smiled at the company clown- even Harry had a smirk on his face.

"Lieutenant, Lieutenant I'll take point." Hoobler volunteered while walking to the front of the company. I smiled, knowing he was still on the hunt for a luger. I clapped him on the back as he reached Harry and me.

"Corporal Hoobler will be lead scout, Blithe glad you could join us." Welsh said, noticing that he was addressing the blonde man that accompanied Talbert's group earlier today. I nodded in greeting to him.

"First platoon, fall in behind Fox company, you people from Second and Third platoon follow us, shake a leg." Welsh commanded as they began to move out.

"And remember just because you are not at the front of the advance means you can slack off- stay alert." I drilled into them before walking up to the front with Hoobler, walking side by side with him. Hoobler shot a strange look at me but didn't comment. We continued like that for a few hours- occasionally losing Fox company which was starting to annoy me. Welsh tried to persuade me to drop back from the front but I dismissed him- I was back in my natural habitat, it was like I never stopped. War was a part of me now and I don't think the automatic movements would ever be forgotten from memory as long as I live.

We had to stop for the third time when Fox company was lost again and Hoobler and Blithe were sent by Harry to reconnect with the company. I was chewing a sweet as Dick and Nixon made their way up from the middle of the formation.

"Why have we stopped?" Dick demanded, anxious energy built up over the last few days of advancement. A lot of the men had it, it was the anticipation of what was to come- a natural human response. I used to get it when I was an inexperienced soldier- it goes away in time. I learned to mentally forget about what is to come and to focus on the present- a much more efficient way of dealing with nerves.

"We lost F Company." I replied calmly while watching the darkness in suspicion.

"This is about officers crapping out on their training," Dick said while looking at his watch again. "Come on, let's get this show on the road." Dick continued unhappily.

"It's fine, we'll get there," Trying to calm the nerves of the officers- even Welsh was feeling the anxiousness in the air. "I'm going to take a man and scout ahead- see what opposition we are looking at in the town." I announced while looking around the darkness.

"Do you think that's wise?" Dick asked, concerned.

"This is what I do Dick, we'll be fine." I reassured him with a smile. Nixon and Welsh didn't say anything but smirked at Dick's mother worrying.

"Ok but be careful." Dick relented with a sigh- the worry lines still visible in the near darkness. I nodded in acknowledgement before I moved down the line to where the soldier I had in mind was.

"Bill," I nodded at him to follow me a little way away from Toye and Luz. "I need you to accompany me to scout Carentan." I explained once we couldn't be overheard by the rest. Bill nodded automatically and made to move before my hand on his arm stopped him.

"Before we go, I need to know that you can do this without putting your need for vengeance first but the company." I demanded while staring him down.

"Are you questioning my loyalty?" Bill angrily replied. I shook my head automatically.

"No, I'm just saying that I know what it's like to lose a loved one to the Germans and I know how the feeling can feel overwhelming but I need you to regain control and do this with the best interests of Easy in mind and not your brother's justice." I explained, calming Bill down instantly. He nodded in understanding.

"Ok, I can do that." He replied after a minute. I nodded satisfied and walked back towards Dick, Nix and Welsh.

"Why'd you pick me to accompany you?" Bill asked quietly on the walk back to the front.

"Because I know every single soldier- I taught you remember? You are light on your feet and good at hand to hand combat encase we encounter trouble." I replied instantly before we reached the officers.

"I'm taking Sergeant Guarnere with me. No rifles, no packs full of extra weight we won't need encase we need to get away fast." I explained in greeting as I handed them my stuff.

"No Rifles?" Nix asked sceptically.

"We are not going to start a firefight, if we encounter trouble we'll use our knife or pistols- it's easier to manoeuvre without the rifles, trust me," I explained, experience seeping through my voice. "That ok with you, Sergeant?" I asked Bill in my authoritative voice.

"Yes Ma'am." He answered immediately while shedding his extra weight and handing it to a nearby Perconte to carry.

"Ok, no more talking- hand gestures only." I commanded and gave a parting smile to the 3 officers watching. Bill nodded in understanding.

"Be careful Ana." Dick implored before I nodded and walked ahead into the darkness, Bill on my heels.

 **Okay Chapter 10! Sorry for the long wait, my inspiration was lost for a while but I am hopefully going to get back into the swing of things and on dishing out more chapters soon! Hope you enjoy this one!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Bill was my first choice to follow me into enemy territory. He was a real soldier. Don't get me wrong, the rest of Easy company was made up of fully skilled soldiers that I am proud to serve with. It's just that Bill has something the rest don't have, something that cannot be taught. He has the right mindset and thinking process- he doesn't feel fear. I saw it the first time I saw him spar with Joe Toye. There's emotion in the eyes, everyone has it- except a select few. Bill is the only person aside from my brother and I that possesses it. He was born to be a soldier. It is something I wish I didn't have. After I was put in charge of my own elite unit, the switch between emotionless killer and normal Ana has become more pronounced. I could turn the switch on and wipe out a whole platoon with precision or I could become the Ana that I want to be once this war is over- the Ana that Joe fell in love with. When I mentioned to Joe before we jumped, about losing Ron to his bloodlust- it wasn't just Ron I was worried for. It's in our genes to become ruthless, emotionless killers.

I thought of this as Bill and I approached the town from the dark forest that surrounded it. We were lightly watching our step encase of sentry's listening. I motioned for Bill to stop and crouch down when I saw a small break in the trees that would be a good vantage point to look down onto the town. Bill kept guard as I unravelled my binoculars and looked down at Carentan. I couldn't make out anything distinctive. The town was quiet, no sound of civilians or soldiers alike. No light either that I could see. They had blackout material on the windows- smart. I lowered my binoculars and frowned at the town that was not telling me anything. These Germans are good, and they seem to not just be normal infantry. I had nothing to come back to Lewis about- no number of soldiers, no information about firepower or positions. But I will not let this be a wasted trip.

I motioned for Bill to look through the binoculars while I watched our backs. He pulled back after a moment and nodded at me in understanding. He knew what we were going to do. Bill reminded me a lot of myself. When the distinct sound of leaves being crushed under boots reached our ears we immediately popped our heads up at the sound then proceeded to crawl on our bellies to some cover by a bush. We watched as a half-dressed German man walked noisily over to a tree and proceeded to open the fly on his pants so that he could take a piss. I rolled my eyes in annoyance and disappointment. I can't believe that I honestly thought that the Germans would not at least make it harder for us. I motioned for Bill to look out before I broke cover and crept soundlessly behind the German which I could now smell stank of alcohol. Before he could turn around, I already had slit his throat and he choked on his own blood. I dragged his body from under his armpits towards the cover of the trees where Bill was, and he helped me to cover him up in the foliage. I soon rid the ground of the drag marks by my shoe before I motioned for Bill to follow me towards the darkness of the town. We got to the tree line of where the forest ended, and the town began. I saw the familiar dark helmet of a German approaching our position- maybe looking for where his friend went. If that was true, then we don't have much more time before we're discovered. Bill soon noiselessly discarded the German as soon as he reached our concealed position. We must move fast before their buddies start to miss them. I quickly checked that the coast was clear before motioning for Bill to head towards the nearest house to us, it looked like it was a pharmacy. I followed Bill and quietly twisted the knob to the door and it opened easily, we listened out for any alarmed shouts or noise but heard none, so I cautiously entered first with Bill on my six. Bill closed the door after us to avoid suspicion and we quietly crept around the house and searched the rooms but couldn't find anything- breathing or not. That was until we heard voices coming from the cellar. And then footsteps on the stairs. I signalled for Bill to hide and just enough time to conceal myself before I heard the cellar door open. The unmistakably sound of the Germans boots was loud against the wooden floorboards as I heard him enter the tiled floor of the kitchen. I peeked round the wall to see the back of his head and his uniform in pristine condition- unlike his other fallen comrade who was half dressed. He's an officer- a valuable hostage for information. I carefully broke my cover and crept up behind him slowly with my knife out by my side. Something must have given me away because he whirled around fast with a knife of his own in his hand. I lunged at him, hoping to subdue him quickly but he leant back and then took a swing at me. I bashed his hand against the steel sink hard and he dropped the knife with a loud clutter. I then dodged a punch to the face while I tugged him down to the floor on his belly. His mouth opened to yell for help but before he could I pressed the knife hard against his neck in warning.

 _"_ _If you let out a sound, I will kill you and then drop a few grenades down the cellar for your buddies."_ I told him in near perfect German. He stopped struggling after that. I motioned for Bill to help haul him up with me. I then got out the duct tape and put it over his mouth, just encase. I let Bill take point in clearing for our exit. I took one last look at the cellar where the rest of the Germans are before exiting the house after Bill announced it was clear back to the forest. As much as I wanted to kill the rest of them- we had a mission to do and that entails getting out alive. Like I told Dick and Lew, my objective was not to start a firefight. Bill took point the rest of the way back to camp while I had a hold of the prisoner. The 506th was to attack Carentan at first light and we only had a couple of hours left.

We reached Easy company's position with time to spare. Many of the men were still dozing when we walked past them all to the officer's position in the middle of the company. Only lookouts were awake which happened to be Joey among a few. I locked eyes with Joe and winked at him as he saw me hauling the German officer past the sleeping men.

"Sirs." Guarnere greeted when he reached Dick and Lew, who were awake and going over the map of the town. Lew and Dick looked up to see Bill leading me and the German officer behind.

"Ana, we were about to think that you were not going to show up for the big party." Lew teased while eyeing the German Officer with glee.

"I'm never late but I do have a present for you." I sang lightly before releasing my hold on the German and letting him fall to the ground with a huff and grunt.

"Was that necessary?" Dick questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Da," I replied immediately "If you don't need me I'm going to take a nap, wake me when I'm needed." I turned and started to walk away before I heard the rough German voice.

 _"_ _I should have known you're a whore Russian bitch, I hope the fuhrer kills you all. Russia will crumble into nothing."_ The German voice said with malice. I froze for a second before turning on my heel and walked back towards the German. I crouched down to his eye level as he was still kneeling on the ground.

 _"_ _Russia will rise again, and Hitler will probably die a coward in a dark little hole somewhere."_ I replied in German- surprising Lew and Dick as well as shocking the German at my retort. I walked away immediately after before my temper got the better of me I found Joe, still awake, waiting for me.

"You went into Carentan?" Joe questioned with concern. I nodded as I laid down next to him, I used my pack as a pillow for my head.

"That was risky." Joe commented, clearly holding back something from me. I knew what it was, I can always read Joe just like he can read me since we've spent nearly all our free time together since we got to England in 1943.

"I know you're worried about me but don't be, I'm always fine." I said trying to reassure him. Joe scoffed.

"Well one-day Ana, you might not be- you're not invincible." Joe retorted with a frown and hard glint to his voice.

"I know-" I started to say before Joe cut me off.

"No you don't know, I want to take you back to the states with me- breathing preferably." Joe passionately said surprising me. I blinked in shock.

"You want me to come home with you?" I asked hesitantly. Joe's face softened at my uncertain tone.

"Of course, my family will love you- especially my ma." Joe explained while turning his head away from me towards the sky. I carried on watching him like he is the only thing that matters.

"I would love to come home with you," I whispered to him, Joe turned his head back to me and smiled widely at my admission. "I promise I'll come to San Francisco- breathing." I quietly promised. I reached out and squeezed Joe's hand in comfort. Not confident enough to do more since we were surrounded by soldiers who could report us for inappropriate behaviour.

A clearing of a throat broke us from our moment of bliss and I immediately dropped Joe's hand out of instinct. My beating heart calmed when I saw that it was only Bill. Joe's concerned face reminded me that he didn't know that Bill knows about us.

"Everything's okay." I reassured Joe before getting up off the ground.

"Sorry to disturb you Ana but the officers want you." Bill explained apologetically. I nodded and shot him a small smile to show that I wasn't annoyed. Bill followed me towards Harry, Lew, Dick and Major Strayer.

"I hope you managed to get some rest Ana." Dick greeted, I shrugged with indifference. I've survived with much less rest than normal.

"Not really." I replied, I could see Bill trying to hide his smirk. I glared at him before the officers got wind of something they shouldn't have.

"That's too bad, that officer you handed to us on a silver platter was useful. We are looking at a company of fallschirmjäger, Paratroopers." Lew informed us before he walked over to stand next to Bill and I. "The other companies pulled out a few hours ago, no heavy guns or artillery from what the German told us." Lew explained with a thoughtful look.

"That's interesting." I commented while viewing the map of the town that held so much importance.

"Isn't it just?" Lew grinned knowingly. Strayer huffed in annoyance.

"Would you two care to share?" Strayer asked while Bill, Dick and Welsh looked at our reaction with a questionable look.

"They are waiting for us to capture the town." Lew explained.

"Why?" Harry questioned, confused.

"Carentan is as important to them as it is to us, they won't just 'let it go' without much of a fight. They could have moved the other companies because they knew we had superior strength and they are waiting in a fall-back position, ready to counter-attack which would mean that they have reinforcements coming." I explained, while thoughtfully pondering over the map. The rest were going over the plan of the taking of the town. Easy was going in first from the East while Fox will enter from the West with Dog behind us. The other companies are in reserve encase we encounter fiercer resistance than expected. Welsh volunteered him and first platoon to take lead. When we were all done with the plan, it was nearly time to get into position.

"Ana, take Shifty and find a good spot to set up your nest." Dick ordered after the boys were in position, concealed on the road to Carentan by a small hill. I nodded in understanding before making my way down the line to reach Shifty.

"Shifty, you've been assigned to me- let's go!" I ordered when I finally found him

"Yes ma'am." He immediately replied before following me into the nearby field, away from the men.

"We are going to go into Carentan when the others start their assault and find a vantage point to take out as many Germans as we can." I explained, while we trudged through the over grown grass. As soon as we got to the edge of town we stopped and crouched behind a bush, waiting for Welsh to charge in with first platoon. It seemed like an hour wait but in reality, it was much less. We heard the pounding of multiple boots on the ground before the unmistakable sound of MG fire opened up. I growled in annoyance and decided to pop my head up to see what kind of resistance the German's were putting up. From where we are, I could only see the spray of gunfire coming from the Normandie Café and only small arms fire being returned from somebody I couldn't see. I couldn't see the rest of the company anywhere.

"What the heck are they playing at." I mumbled to myself, confused as to what is going on.

"Shifty wait here, I'm going to sneak in and see what's going on- I'll call for you once it's clear." I told him. Shifty nodded in understanding before I got up and leaped over the bush. I stuck to the wall while I watched for snipers as I crept into town. I knew almost all the Germans would be in cover in the buildings- which made it harder for me to pinpoint their positions before they fire on me. I whistled loudly for Shifty to join me and was relieved to see other soldiers starting to assault the town too. A short pop sounded, and a man was shot in the head as soon as he entered the gate. I narrowed my eyes in anger before I made out where the sniper was and shot him before he even knew I was there. Shifty then proceeded to shoot the gunner on the MG42 that was still pinning our guys down before his crew member turned the machine gun in our direction. I pushed Shifty back quickly against the metal wire fence, with my front to his front to keep him safe. I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes and barred the horrible few seconds of bullets barley missing us. The gunfire from the MG soon stopped at the sound of a grenade exploding and I finally let out a breath of relief.

"Shifty, Ana you guys okay?" I heard Lipton shout. I turned around and smiled at seeing Lipton with Perconte and Skinny right behind. Shifty held up a thumb to show that we are fine.

"Where the hell you guys been?" I asked loudly, trying to speak over the sound of gunfire and grenades going off.

"We had some motivational issues, it's been sorted," Lipton simply said "We gotta take that warehouse!" Lipton ordered before running up to the wall outside the building and taking cover behind it encase of enemy gunfire.

"Shifty, hammer those windows." Lipton ordered, while checking for movement in the windows. Shifty shot out the windows but there was no returning fire. I glanced behind me and smiled at seeing Joe's unmistakable form running into Carentan with Tipper behind.

"Lipton, clear the warehouse- Shifty on me!" I ordered when I saw the rest of the company pouring into the town in force. I ran in the direction of the café de Normandie, Shifty on my heel. I saw Luz and Hoobler as I past, clearing houses with grenades. When I reached the high clocktower, I grinned in delight. I could see the whole town from this position. We ran up the high stairs and immediately started setting up shop when we got to the top. We started to pick off any visible Germans before a huge explosion was heard and I could see the flying of dirt in the air to signal that the Germans have Artillery zeroed in on our positions. I looked through my scope to see where they are, but I couldn't get them as they concealed themselves away from our range. When I saw Lipton get hit, I moved with the intention of going down to help before I saw Talbert help to patch him up and move him to the aid station. I noted briefly that Liebgott and Tipper had entered the pharmacy to clear it and then decided to concentrate on picking of some Germans who decided to flee the town. The next thing I heard was an amplified explosion as the Pharmacy took a direct hit.

Suddenly, I felt like I couldn't breathe. Everything seemed to slow down. The bullets flew through the air slower, the flames of the explosions sizzled less, and the men seemed to be paused in time. My vision blurred for a second before I shook my head and stumbled to the stairs as quickly as I could. I'm sure I mumbled to Shifty that I was going down before I clumsily stumbled down the steep stairs. Miraculously, managing to not break my neck. I felt like I was in a nightmare that wasn't stopping. As soon as my boots hit the ground I was sprinting. Sprinting past the soldiers, past the bodies that littered the streets and even past the continued Artillery fire because nothing mattered but Joe. Joe is all that's on my mind.

I paused 15 feet away from the pharmacy. There was a soldier crouching over another soldier, I couldn't see their faces. Two other soldiers were standing up and staring at the soldier on the ground in shock. I thought the worst, Joe's dead. It wasn't until I heard his husky familiar voice that I let air back into my lungs.

"Guys you wanna give me a hand here, come on." Joe looked up at that moment and locked eyes with me. When his whiskey brown eyes met mine, I felt a range of emotions that I had never felt before. The _relief_ I felt was almost overwhelming that my legs nearly gave out. My eyes involuntarily watered but before I could approach Joe and the others I was called away and I reluctantly left while discreetly wiping my tear-filled eyes with the sleeve of my uniform. I nearly forgot where I was. Now is not the time to stop everything and run into Joe's arms, the town hasn't been won yet.

It took another hour for the town to be cleared of the fallschirmjäger company. The men were resting up as much as they could before we moved out again. I saw most of them lounging across the main square of the town. Moore, Muck, Penkala, Malarkey and Blithe were conversing about something with great humour before my brother approached and ruined their fun, by the drop of their faces.

I soon saw Joe emerge from the makeshift aid station, following behind a stretcher that held Tipper. I watched as Joe bid farewell to Tipper, Joe's face was creased, and I could tell it was causing him pain to say goodbye to Tipper like this. They were close friends throughout training and Sobel. I caught Joe's eye when he looked around the town, after Tippers transport took off. I raised an eyebrow and then walked over to a house that I know is empty of soldiers. I could hear Joe's footsteps behind me after a minute.

As soon as I saw him walk into the house, I shut the door behind him immediately and pushed him up against the stone wall. I cupped his face in my hands and checked to see if he was alright underneath all the dirt and grime that marred his beautiful skin. He immediately reached out to me and cupped my face in his hands too and rested his forehead against mine, trying to comfort us both.

"I saw the pharmacy blow up and I thought…" I broke the silence, my voice cracking at the end. Not even able to finish my sentence, even the thought gave me too much pain. Joe ran his hand through my hair and pulled me to him in a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, tightly keeping a hold of him to remind myself that he was still here in one piece.

"I'm fine Liebling, I'm ok." Joe reassured me while running his hand down my back softly. I nodded in agreement, but I still didn't want to let go. The scent of Joe was the only thing keeping my heart from stopping right now. If Joe died, I don't know what I'll do. That's a lie, I know exactly what I'll do, and it wouldn't be pretty. I would try and kill every German in the vicinity and I wouldn't care who he was or how I did it. I would just shut down and rely on the dark side of myself that I keep locked away from everyone.

"Ana," I heard called from outside.

"Has anyone seen Captain Belikova?" I heard Lew ask from nearby. I reluctantly let go of Joe with a frown. I gave him a small smile to reassure him that I feel a bit better before I exited the house in a hurry in case anyone decided to go house searching for me.

I stepped out into the town courtyard and found Nixon on the other side of the square. I made my way towards him while trying to pat my uniform down of dirt and smoke with little to no success. I saw Ron from the corner of my eye and gave him a nod in acknowledgement. I was still angry about the stunt he pulled with the German prisoners of war and I was wary about what he knew regarding my radio.

"You are looking for me?" I asked Lew and Harry who were leaning against a jeep as if it was just a Saturday day out.

"There you are princess, Dick wants you in the CP tent." Lew said while waving goodbye to Harry. I nodded and started walking with Lew to the tent that was recently put up, considering most of the buildings were destroyed or were not structurally sound anymore. We entered the tent to find Colonel Sink, Dick, Major Strayer and a few other officers from the 506th.

"Good of you to join us Captain, Lieutenant." Sink said before he proceeded to talk. We gathered around a wooden table with a large map covered the entire face.

"From what our German office friend has told us is worrying. Other German companies pulled out last night and left the town with minimal defence. We must assume they left to counter-attack after they get reinforcements. Our job is to hold onto the town and defend it from German attack. Dog, Easy and Fox are going to move up here and find a vantage point to set up defences. With most of the fields flooded there is only so many directions they can come from." Sink briefed us. We nodded in acknowledgement.

"What about the chances of them getting armour as back up?" I asked seriously, while staring at the map in deep concentration.

"According to reports there is no armour in this area." Sink told us. I huffed in frustration.

"Yes but armour can be moved, and I don't entirely trust the reports given to us prior to the invasion, things can be missed. We are only light infantry, if there is armour facing us the best weapon we have is a bazooka." I explained to him. Thinking of the worst-case scenario. If they really want this town they would use armour as back up. It's what I would do, and no one has ever called the German army stupid. I could see Dick frowning at the scenario I was laying out for the rest of them while Lew was thinking about what I was saying.

"It is very possible we could be facing armour sir." Lew sided with me.

"If we are, we are going to need time. 2nd Armoured isn't going to be able to reach our position till midday tomorrow." Sink told us, while rolling up the map. I nodded with a frown. If the Germans had armour, we would have to improvise with what we've got.

"Dismissed everyone, we're rolling out." Sink said. We saluted before leaving the tent to gather up the men.

"Easy company on your feet! We're moving out!"

 **Sorry for the delay everyone! It has been a hectic few months! I'm definitely going to finish this story I just don't know when!**

 **Hope you like this chapter and as always tell me what you think!**


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